The Future is in the Cards
by D-Rosell
Summary: Martha left the Doctor years ago and everything has been normal since then. Until one night he returns. This Doctor has a new face but says he is still the same. The 11th claims he came back to save her and that her life is in serious danger. From thousands of mile away a woman wants her dead. What Martha doesn't know is, that the Doctor was the one sent her on Martha's tracks.
1. Chapter 1

**I**

**THE QUEEN AND THE TIME LORD**

_THEN..._

"Get him!"

Awoman's voice ordered. Her loyal servants vanished in a blink of an eye. They knew that she didn't have mercy and that they were nothing but little chess pieces.

She is sitted on an iron throne carved to look like an eagle. She liked eagles, even though on her planet they didn't exist. She saw them once on this documentary about Earth and grew fond of them ever since. They were majestic, giants of the skies and killers.

She placed her hands on the arms of the chair, carved like eagle claws and waits patiently. She knew how to break him now. She would break him right now and dance on his little pieces. Next to her is a blue police box with its doors locked. She couldn't find the key, so the prisoner had it in his possession. Yes, it's was a smart move, but it wasn't the last.

The new crown on her head was heavy, but she wore it like it was made of feathers and leafs. Her hair was long, so blonde it was almost white. Her big grey eyes were locked on the room's door. Her lips were painted red, the same colour as her long puffy dress. She waited with the patience of a saint.

When the doors open she allowed herself to show the softest of smiles. Approaching her, dragged by two guards, was the last of the Time Lords. The very last one of them. She always thought them to be tall and strong, but this one is just…very, _very_ skinny.

The last of his kind was trapped for weeks now without decent water or food. He did not talk, since he was captured, nor did he move. Unbreakable.

Ah, but the new Queen had a new move to test. The game wasn't over.

"Get him a chair."

A chair was placed below her steps and there the Time Lord sat down. He kept his eyes on the floor, head bowed. Dirty brown hair, all knotted and an awful looking beard. The shirt on his body, once pink, was now brown. Around his neck, there was what remaind of a bowtie. His pants had holes in it and his feet were blackened.

"Hungry?"

No answer. Of course he wouldn't answer. She snapped her long fingers and a small table was placed next to him, on it was a plate of fruit. The Time Lord lookrf to his left and saw the silver plate that contained plumps, grapes, peaches, apples and bananas. He took the latter and bite it quietly.

The Queen smiled.

"I see you are hungry."

Her voice was like honey. Soft. Quiet. Sweet. It echoed naturally in the room and she didn't even raise it.

"Will you talk now?"

Not a word again. The banana disappeared and its remains were placed on the plate. Not a word. The Time Lord's hands were carefully placed on his lap, his head was still bowed and still.

"I can make this very hard...", The Queen said again very softly. "Or very easy"

Not a word in reply. Anyone in this situation would snap and resort to violence. The Queen was surrounded by strong guards. She had hand picked every single one of the soldiers, they were deadly. Any of them could destroy that Time Lord with a punch, but she needed him in one piece and so she remained calm.

"Time Lord, I only want a location." Again she said quietly and again he said nothing. "Where is the Princess?

Silence.

She needed to know where the Princess was. Any trace of that life had to be erased. Long live the new Queen.

"The Princess is lost out in the wilderness and I am worried." She claimed. "I only want what's best-"

"Your words won't work on me." He cuts her off in a husky voice.

The entire room holds its breath and the flames that light the room twitch like a window had been opened.

"They won't?"

"No." He answered. He kept his head down and his hands on his lap. "I know who you are. I know what you did. I know your power."

"Do you?"

"Yes." The Time Lord raised his head and faces the Queen straight on. "Your words won't work on me."

"What's my power?"

"They believe in every single word you say. Every single one."

"You don't?"

The Queen faced him. A normal Queen would send him, straight to the guillotine, but this Queen just shows him another smile.

"Time Lord, I only want the best for my new realm and that includes bringing to my presence the Princess, so she can be…"

"Executed." The Time Lord interrupted the Queen with a cold voice.

"_Taken care of._ I love her, I would never hurt her", The Queen reinforced a worried look on her eyes. "I truly want the best for her." The ancient Time Lord said nothing and so they were in a stand off: the Queen of the planet called Angiolnyght, the strongest planet in the Galaxy Nova, facing a Time Lord, just one and to top that, the last. "Where is she?"

Again silence. The Time Lord bowed his head and went back to being silent and still. The Queen knew it wouldn't be easy. He was a Time Lord, according to legend they didn't give up easily.

"Very well." The Queen looked at one of the maids and said quietly. "Bring me my cards, dear."

That sentence made the Time Lord look up with an inquisitive look. His eyes followed the maid, watching the maid walk towards the door. The Time Lord did not took his eyes off the door, until the maid came back.

"What are you doing?"

"Walking." The Queen answered on her behalf.

The Time Doctor sighed heavily.

"What does she have on her hands? What is going on?"

The maid walks up the steps, coming close to the Queen and handing her the cards.

"Now Time Lord...", the Queen said, "you should watch the way you address to me. After all, I am the Queen."

"You don't deserve the title."

"I'm wearing the crown, therefore I deserve it."

She says this in a very soft way, but with a slight tone of threat.

"What are you doing, _Your Majesty__?_"

"Better." The Queen said. "A lot better." The Queen shows her cards. They were plain and simple deck of black cards. "Thank you, dear. Now Time Lord, you are my prisoner, because you helped the Princess Buma escape-"

"I led her to safety."

"Interrupt me again and I will have you tortured. Don't think I won't, look around", this time the Queen's voice is cold, sharp. The Time Lord looked around and understood the message. He was surrounded "You are my prisoner and I have to know you. Who you are, what you do, your weaknesses and your strengths… all of that."

The Queen started shuffling her black cards.

"Last of the Time Lords, with a TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space), loves to travel back and forth in time and all around the galaxy. You have archenemies, so many it's impossible to count, but those that keep popping up everywhere are our allies: The Daleks."

The Queen's cards shifted between her long fingers like magic.

"You're allies with the Daleks? Don't you know what they're capable of? No one allies with the Daleks! You will die"

"That's what you thing." The Queen said naturally. "You travel in your TARDIS, but you don't do it alone. You hate to be alone." The Time Lords body stiffens and the Queens's smile grows brighter. She had him."Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, Amy Pond and Rory Williams - who are married now – their lovely daughter and apparently your wife, River Song and the ever so charming and immortal Captain Jack Harkness. Did I get it right?"

"What do you want?" His voice was cold, ready to fight. Hewas a warrior. She picked seven cards, leaving the others on the right arm of her throne.

"Tell me where the Princess is." The Queen demanded, the Time Lord said nothing. The Queen rose from her throne, looking strong and powerful. The black cards were in her right hand, covered with the left. "Where is the Princess, Time Lord?"

No answer. She came down the steps. Her shoes, covered by the long dress, echoed on the stone floor. Her dress was so long it lingered at the top of the stairs, even though she was almost halfway through them. She stopped right in front of the Time Lord, but only a few steps away. " Time Lord…"

"There is no point in asking again. I won't answer."

"I know." The Queen stepped forward and leaned so close the Time Lord could smell her soft perfume. The Queen showed him the seven picked black cards; they had names written in them, his friend's names written in blood red. "Pick one."

"Why?"

"I'm the Queen. I'm ordering you too. Pick one."

The Time Lord looked at the cards. Rose. Martha. Donna. Amy. Rory. River. And Jack.

"Why?"

"Do you want me to choose for you?"

"I got the right to one question."

"You've got no rights. You are a traitor."

"I won't choose. I'll die before doing it."

"No, no you won't. You'll die when I say so. Choose."

The Time Lord looked at the cards. He stretched his hand, realizing it was trembling just a bit. He couldn't choose! He would never! How could he?

Rose was in a parallel world, to get to her the Queen would have to burn stars and galaxies. Amy and Rory were hidden and not even the Doctor knew where exactly. River well… River was in jail and even if she wasn't there at the moment (after all, that woman loves to escape her prison bars) who knows where she could be?

He looked at the Queen whose grey eyes seemed, at first, ever so kind, but now there was this glow. This strange and scary glow that made the man with the blue box realize that, this has to be his move. He has to choose. Even though he doesn't want to.

"If you know me then you know that I won't choose. I won't put my friends in danger."

"Then answer me". The Queen stands patiently and the Time Lord says nothing. "I thought so. Are you willing to kill your friends just for a Princess that you barely know?"

"I'm keeping her safe."

"No, you're being a murderer". The Queen turned to her left and looked at the guard standing there. A tal man with a yellow bandana on his right arm. "Get over here." Around this man, there was a machine gun that he was holding pretty close to himself. He was a soldier and he was ready to shoot at any moment. "Here is the thing about Time Lords, you are all so loyal and honorable. It is annoying."

The Queen gave the cards to the guard and he placed them face down. The Queen hand hovered over the seven black cards, with her fingertips very softly touching the texture.

_Rose, Martha,__Donna, Amy, Rory, River, Jack…_

_Rose, Martha, Donna, Amy, Rory, River, Jack…_

The Time Lord's two hearts beat like jungle drums. He could jump and push that awful Queen, but before he could even touch her he would be covered with bullets. On the other hand, the Princess would be safe and so would his friends.

No, he couldn't, he promised the Princess he would return to her.

"Why are you doing this? Stop it! The Princess is out of your way, you don't need her."

The Queen face the Time Lord fast, with eyes as cold as snow. She came so close, like a snake that's ready to attack at any second.

"As long as she lives, she will _always_ be in my way." The Queen's voice is no more than a whisper. It is pure evil in a soft voice. "I will not rest until I have her heart on my hand. I want her dead and she will die. You either can help me find her or let your friends be part of the body count. Your choice, _Doctor."_

"I don't know where the Princess is."

"You said that you know who I am and what I can do. So you know then I can see straight through lies, Time Lord." The Queen's index finger touched his forehead.

"It's only a matter of time. When I'm done with your friends, I'll go after their friends, children, parents, husbands, wives…I will kill a planet if I have too." She shrugged. "Did it before, I can do it again."

She stood again, proud and tall.

"You're bluffing.

"It sounds like that, doesn't it?"

The Queen took her finger away from his forehead and pointed to the cards.

"WAIT!" The Time Lord screamed. The Queen's face was all smiles. Victory was hers!

The Time Lord didn't want to choose, but it was better if he was the one to made the choice instead of the Queen and her twisted mind.

"Wait…" The Time Lord looked at the guard, and he showed him the cards face down. The Doctor reached out again. His left hand trembling so much it looks like it's going to take off and run away on its own, and yet, instead of taking a card, he dropped his hand again. "I'll give you a name."

"You'll give _me_ a name?"

"Yes."

"What name is that?"

The moment he saw the name float in front of his eyes, a cold shiver ran up his spine. A very human shiver.

"Jones. Martha Jones."

The Queen looked at the Doctor curiously.

"Why her?"

"You wanted a name, I've given you one. That is it."

The Queen approached the Time Lord.

"Well you're you a faster killer than I thought."

The Time Lord made a move to tackle the Queen, but she stopped him mid motion. No, the Queen did not touch the Time Lord and neither could he, no matter how much he wanted to. There he was fighting against this invisible wall of power that did not allow him to touch a string of her hair.

"Sit down!" And so he did. He was under her command. The Time Lord felt like he had just pushed a mountain. "No one can touch me, Doctor." The Queen said, full of pride.

"You will not get to her." Said the Time Lord. "I won't let you!"

"How do you plan to stop me? You can't even touch me, _Doctor."_

And then it all happens tremendously fast, not even the Queen saw clearly what happenned. With a fast movement the Time Lord got up and knocked down the guard next to the Queen. He faced her, dead on, only a few inches away from her nose.

Around him the guns are ponited right at him. It was a kill shot.

"DON'T SHOOT!" The Queen orders. "I want him alive."

"You would like that, wouldn't you?"

"You won't kill yourself."

"True." The Doctor said. "But I will run." Then he ran up the stairs, towards the throne.

"GET HIM!"

The Doctor stopped right at the throne, snapped his fingers and the TARDIS doors opened like magic, yet he did not enter. Behind him the room stops, the soldiers hold their position and the Queen stops too. The Doctor does a slow turn, looking at the Queen.

"You just lost a great piece of your quest." He said. "You have no idea what you just did, do you?"

"What...What are you talking about?"

The Doctor showed a soft smile, then ran into his TARDIS, it's doors closing right behind him.

"It's good to see you, sexy", he says while running to to the leaver and pushing it forward. He was safe and was ready to safe his friend.

"Now, Let's go see Dr. Jones".

**_TO BE CONTINUED..__._**


	2. Chapter 2

**II**

**DEAR ME, MARTHA JONES. DEAR ME.**

Martha Jones has had a busy, busy day. She is still at the hospital, when the clock confirms that it is almost eleven. Her shift is over, thank God! She does love her job, but sometimes it was just too exhausting. Martha walks the halls entering and walking out of her patient's room, checking tablets, asking questions and getting answers. Martha was one of the best on that Hospital, there was no denying it. This is a sort of ritual that Martha does every day when her shift is over; she likes to make sure that her patients know that she is right there whenever they need her.

She walks into the room of her favorite and most annoying patient.

"Well hello, Doctor Jones." He says with a big smile. "I was starting to miss you."

He is Jonathan Hunter and, despite the fact that he had open heart surgery just three days ago, he acts like nothing is wrong. Jonathan has always had heart problems since he was a child. A few days ago, while playing football – something that he shouldn't be doing in the first place – his heart gave out, making him drop in the middle of the pitch. It was on the news and everything.

Jonathan was on the list for a new heart and when the incident happened he became top priority. The young football player was rushed to the hospital, his heart giving out two times on the way, but as soon as he was stable he was sent to the surgery room. Martha was on call, so she performed the surgery. While under, Martha almost lost him, but then she and the rest of the team were able to stable Jonathan.

Now he was alright, recovering very well. Always with a big smile, cracking jokes and, of course, flirting with Martha Jones.

"Jonathan." Martha approaches the bed and picks up his tablet. "You're doing very well."

"Of course!" He shows the biggest, brightest smile. Jonathan has brown hair and big green eyes and very pink and sensual lips. On top of that, the funny boy has dimples on both sides of his cheeks. Jonathan is also a little bit younger than Martha, just three or four years younger, making everything a little bit uncomfortable." I'm awesome."

"I can see that." Martha places the tablet back and stuffs her hands on the pockets of her white coat. "How are you feeling?"

"Good. Very good actually."

Jonathan shows her that big smile again.

Martha comes close to him.

"Can you sit?" Jonathan sits up with help, so that the Dr. can listen to his brand new heart with a stethoscope. "Take a deep breath." Jonathan inhales and exhales like Martha orders. "Good." Martha places the stethoscope on his back. "One more time." Jonathan repeats the drill. "Very good."

"Is everything okay?"

"Everything is just fine." Martha says with a smile. "If you keep up like this, you'll get out of here pretty soon."

"Pretty soon we'll be able to go out for a drink, then."

"A drink?" Martha asks with a smile. She shouldn't be flirting with a patient. She shouldn't be flirting at all. It is too soon. It is way too son. "You can't drink. Not anytime soon."

"How about lunch?" Martha laughs. The door opens and chief male nurse Williams walks in. Martha stops smiling and turns very professional, but Jonathan keeps smiling. "I'm waiting, Martha."

The nurse was just checking the serum at first, but then looks from Martha to Jonathan, proceeding to hitting him on the shoulder.

"Ouch! What…What was that for?" Jonathan asks looking at the nurse.

"You shouldn't call her that, she's a Dr."

"Well, that's her name!"

"You _know_ each other?" Martha asks, confused. None of them answer and Doctor Jones looks at nurse Williams with folded arms. "Rory?"

"We're mates." Says Jonathan. "Well, I'm a friend of a friend of a friend. We used to play football together on Sundays."

"I was there when it happened. It was my day off."

Rory shows a crooked smile and so does Jonathan.

"Rory sucks at football."

"Oi! I do not!"

"You so do." Jonathan smiles again. It's good that he's smiling so much. "So, what's my answer?"

Martha shakes her head and walks towards the door.

"Get well and I will let you buy me lunch, dinner and breakfast."

"Really?" Martha bit her lip. That was too far and it was way too soon. The Dr. turned away to her patient. Jonathan's eye glowing with excitement. "Wait. Are you serious?"

Martha looks at Rory.

"Rory, can I see you outside, please?"

Martha steps outside. Even behind the close door she could hear Rory and Jonathan whispering away. Five seconds later, Rory comes out. Martha was very fond of Rory, he was a very sweet man and a true gentleman. There is something about the way he is such a dork that makes him adorable. Nonetheless, when it came to work, Rory Williams was the best nurse in Saint Mary's.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Jones." He apologizes. "I guess the heart messed up with his head. I'll tell him to behave and stop messing around. I am so sorry."

"It's okay. I want to ask you to keep a close eye on him and if anything changes to beep me."

"Yes. I will. I'm sorry again."

"Not a problem."

Martha turns to the locker rooms, feeling tired. She opens her locker, takes off her coat and sighs heavily. On the clock she sees it's already eleven forty five and Martha can't wait to get home. While working Martha has energy to give and sell, no one can stop her. She fed on the adrenaline, the rush, that weird ER vibe that was so typical of that place. Once she's out of there, she feels tired, exhausted really.

On the way to her car Martha feels like the world is on her shoulders. It was a choice she had made, to leave UNIT along with its aliens, politics and other complicated things to simply become Dr. Martha Smith-Jones. Although she is no longer connected to UNIT, she still knows people in high places in politics and in the military; after all she had been one of them.

Martha rarely thought about the Doctor now. It has been a very long time since he haunted her dreams and she was thankful for that. The first days, weeks and months after she left him were no walk in the park. Martha thought about the Doctor constantly, listening very carefully to every single newscast, reading thoroughly every newspaper and checking websites for any documented appearance of the Doctor. After a long goose chase, she came to terms and understood that the Doctor was far away now, probably with a new companion. After all, Martha was the one who left him, so there was no need in wanting him back.

She got engaged to Tom Milligan and he broke it off. Yeah, Martha Jones almost got married to a run-away Doctor. She still laughs every time she thinks about it. Months later she met Mickey Jones, married him and they lived happily until everything went to hell and got lost in the fire. She still cries every night whenever she thinks about it.

Of course she didn't wish the Doctor any harm. At a certain point she had missed his jibber jabber, weird mannerisms and the way he said "Brilliant", but he was gone now. Martha grew accustomed to normal people, people that did not say "brilliant" and did normal things. And yet, every night before she falls asleep she allows herself a question: _If he came back today, would I go? _The moment that question pops up, she turns to the side and falls asleep.

It has been five years and a few months since Harry Saxon and the Toclafane. The Doctor said that no one would remember, that it wouldn't be more than just a dream to the rest of the population, but a dream can be turned into an idea and a very lucrative one.

The amount of books about "the year that never was" are unbelievable! The monsters and characters are different from writer to writer but, overall, they're all the same. The best seller was the saga called "The Year That Never Was". These books were written by a young novelist and they flew from the shelves, becoming number 1 all over the world and being translated into French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, German and even Chinese.

Martha bought the books for fun. It was so all over the place, it was impossible not to get bitten by curiosity. So she bought the saga, sat down and read it all.

While reading it was like she had turned back in time. The young author kept names, dates and characteristics, she didn't change anything. There was even the TARDIS and Captain Jack's time traveling bracelet or whatever! To the common reader it was just a book, with really good characters and pretty good storyline, but to Martha it was like someone had written in detail the whole episode.

The saga divided itself in four books: "_New World Order_" was the first one. It introduced the main characters, such as Harry Saxon and his rise to the power as young politician, Martha Jones as a medicine student, Captain Jack Harkness as investigator and the Doctor as a time traveller.

"_The Enemy_", the second one, described the beginning of the fight. Harry Saxton introduces the allies called Toclafane, he's the villain in the saga and now Martha, the Doctor and Captain Jack have to stop him.

The third one, "_Earth's Saviour_", is the most famous of the four and a favourite of the fans and it was the one that bugged Martha the most. It was way too accurate! This one focused mainly on the travelling that Martha made around the world. It was like someone had documented the journey and then had written a book about it. Some details were so close to reality, that it literally sent shivers up and down Martha's spine while she was reading it.

The last one named the whole saga, "_The Year That Never Was_", and it took two years to get to the shelves. No one knows why exactly, but truth is fans waited for days, even weeks to get the first edition of the book. It was madness!

However, the young author hadn't had enough and so she – yes, it was a woman – wrote "_The Martha Jones Chronicle_" and, just like the other ones, it vanished.

Martha started reading the last one, but she couldn't finish. How was it possible for an author, who Martha had no idea whom it could be, to know her so well? Everything was there, her feelings toward the Doctor, the fear for her family's safety, what she said to people wherever she went…

Evidently Martha Jones tried to track her down, but everywhere she went she ended up hitting a dead end. Always the same fake name. Autumn Brown. Even the name sounded made up!

After this book, Martha's life went crazy. Every time she met a patient or went out a public place where she had to use her name, people always asked "Like the one from the book?" Martha always answered "Just like it.", then they would go "Are you the one…?" and Martha smiled very kindly and replied "No, I am not."

Martha gets home, turns off the car and allows herself a few minutes in silence. The lights are on inside the house and even though she isn't close to a window, she can almost hear her mother's voice.

Martha loves her mother, she really does, but ever since "_The Year That Never Was_" – the real one, not the book – she had gotten _even _worse. Martha couldn't breathe, take a step, make a move or say anything without her mother being right there beside her, with her questions and her opinions. Tish was there too and thank God she was! Tish was the one bridge between Martha and their mother; if Tish wasn't there, Martha could easily say the worst things.

Martha gets out of the car, locking it and walking to her front door. She is about to put the key in the lock, when the door opens and there she is:

"Martha!" Her mother is right there. A future personification of herself in the years to come. "You almost missed me."

_Too bad I didn't. _

They hug each other on the door step and Martha comes into the house feeling its warmth. She loves her house. When they found it, Martha thought it was a little bit too much for a recently married couple. Nevertheless, her husband convinced her with talks of future planes, children and grandchildren, "a family house" he said. They bought the house and one day, after coming home from the groceries, she saw it: The sunlight hit the house making it look like it was painted orange, the windows were shining with the afternoon glow and then he came out the door with a big smile on his face. It was perfect. It was their home and she would never, ever leave.

Martha closes the door behind her. Her mum wears white pants with a green blouse and blazer.

"You already leaving, mum?"

"I have too." She says with a smile. Tish pops up from the kitchen with her curly hair tight up. "I have an important meeting tomorrow."

"You don't work, mum."

"So?" Mother asks offended. "Can't I have meetings?"

Martha looks at Tish, and she makes a gesture meaning "let it go" and so Martha does.

"Yes, you can, mum. You can do whatever you want."

"Well, I gotta dash." After kissing Martha on the cheek, she opens the door and walks to her car. "Come along, Tish."

Tish is still getting her things. Her black coat and red purse – she loves that purse, but Martha hates it. Tish comes to her sister with a smile on her face.

"How was your day?"

"It was fine. How was everything here?"

"Fine too. He's asleep now." Tish puts on her coat. "He looks like him every day."

"Let's just hope he has my brains." Martha hugs Tish and a few seconds later, Martha is alone in silence. Even the house seems to collapse on her.

Martha takes off her shoes and goes up the stairs barefoot. The second door on the right is painted blue and she pushes it softly. The room is dark, with just a soft red nightlight in the corner.

Martha approaches the bed, sitting there and looking at him. The little boy moves in the bed and opens his big brown eyes.

"Mum?"

"Did I wake you?"

"Yes."

"So sorry, love."

Martha kisses his forehead.

"I was dreaming about dad." He says. Martha smiles and touches one of his curls gently. "He was talking to me."

"What did he say?"

"To take care of you."

Martha smiles and kisses him again. The little boy places his arms around her neck and hugs her tightly.

"Go back to sleep, okay?"

"Okay."

Martha leaves him to sleep and dream. Closing the door behind her, she walks to her room, first door to the right. She takes off her suit pants and her white blouse, dressing in her blue shorts and tank top. The moment she puts her head on the pillow, that question floats back. _If he came back today, would I go?_

Martha sighs, turns to the side looking at a picture of her husband smiling. Seconds later she falls asleep heavily.

_TO BE CONTINUED_

_**Next – The Eleventh and Martha Jones**_


	3. Chapter 3

**III**

**THE ELEVENTH AND MARTHA JONES**

Martha wakes up suddenly, her heart pounding against her chest and sweat dripping down her back. She dreamt of fire again. White fire.

Sitting on her bed, looking at the darkness of the bedroom, she tries to steady her breath and calm herself. Feeling hot, she throws the covers to the side. Her legs are burning and her skin is sticky. The only thing Martha wishes is to be able to sleep without dreaming.

Eventually she calms herself and her mind goes back to clear thinking. She is about to go back to sleep when a weird noise reaches her ears. Not any noise. A scratchy sound. It didn't come from her bedroom; it came from downstairs. It could be wind, it could be the neighbour's cat…but there isn't even a breeze outside and the neighbours have no cat. Maybe it was just a mind trick. Yeah, probably it was. She lies back down again, closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Just as soon as her mind starts to wander and her body relaxes, there it is again. This time it isn't a scratchy sound, it's a thump and a loud one at that. Martha jumps out of her bed without even thinking about it. With careful steps she approaches the door; behind it is a baseball bat.

Martha walks out of her room; bat in hand ready for confrontation. One thing that UNIT had taught her was to be ready at all times. Martha is not a soldier anymore, but she still knows how to fight. The Dr. stops at the first door and looks inside.

The little boy is seated on his bed looking at her. Sometimes it scares Martha how intuitive he is.

"I heard a noise."

"I know. I'll check what it is. Stay here."

She closes the door very quietly and keeps going down the hall, until she reaches the top of the stairs. Leaning against the wall, she waits. There is no movement from downstairs, but again she hears a noise, a new thump. It's like somebody is tripping and falling time after time.

Martha walks down the stairs, step by step, always against the wall for coverage, protected by the darkness. When she gets downstairs she holds the bat slightly above her heard, just like her husband taught her one day.

She hears a new thump and a moan. Whoever is in the room is close to the door. Martha leans against the wall and ducks. Her plan is to hit the intruder with a low blow making him/her bend over and then she will go for the back and hit him/her – or even it – until it lays flat on the floor.

Martha is accustomed to the darkness of her house and knows it very well. Knows every corner and how the furniture is displayed, so she has that in her favour. A new thump closer to the door and Martha gets ready. She takes deep breaths and stiffens her arms.

The first thing she sees is as a leg. Just like that, she hits the knee. The intruder – from his cry she realizes it's a man – falls down to one knee. Martha hits him again in the stomach, and he bends over groaning with pain. One more time, she hits him on the back and he falls to the floor. Martha hits him one, two, three times until he no longer moves. But he is alive, since she can hear him breathe heavily.

Martha turns on the lights to see the intruder.

He is barefoot and wears dirty clothes; his pink shirt stained with brown spots of sweat and dirt. His trousers are ripped at the bottom and burned. His brown hair is also dirty, knotted and long. A homeless man robbing houses?

The man groans again and Martha prepares herself, raising the bat one more time, ready to swing him into the middle of next week, if necessary.

"Martha."

Martha stops in shock.

"How do you know my name?"

The man is now sitting. He looks straight at Martha and shows her a soft smile, like it's been a long time since he last saw her. He has big eyes, a jaw line that looks like it was chiselled marble, very soft lips and a beard that covered half his face. Ugly that beard was.

"Martha Jones."

"How do you know my name?"

"It's been a while."

Martha points the bat at him.

"Who are you?"

"Don't you recognize me?"

"I've never seen you in my life!" Martha argues. "Now tell me who you are or I'll call the police!" The man stands up. He is taller than Martha and very skinny, probably hasn't eaten in days. He takes one step forth and Martha takes one back. "I won't ask again."

He opens his arms and smiles gently. His smile can light up a room, warm and reassuring.

"It's me. The Doctor."

Martha's jaw drops to the ground. It's not him. It can't be! The Doctor is millions of miles away in the galaxy! There is no way – no way! – he is right there! So, if the Doctor is somewhere in time, this man could only be a fan. A fan of that bloody saga! This is crossing the line!

"You're not him."

"I am." He smiles again. "I know, I look a bit different now. I'm the eleventh. I'm still the same though, still remember everything…" Martha is taken over by a rush of rage and out of nowhere, she swings the bat. The fake Doctor dodges it. "Wow! What are you doing?"

"You're not the Doctor."

"Martha, trust me! It's me!"

She swings again, this time grazing him.

"Who are you?"

"Martha…" Again she tries to hit him. "I promise you! Wait." Martha swings again. "WAIT! HOLD ON!"

Martha stops while the fake Doctor's mind thinks of an explanation.

" The Master, the Toclafane, Harry Saxon, the drums… The year that never was! You walked the earth. You saved me!" Martha swings again, this time hitting him on his left arm. The Doctor screams and backs away "What? What are you doing?"

"Everyone knows that."

"How?"

"There's a whole book saga about it!"

"Really?" Martha charges once more, but the Doctor flees to the dark living room. Martha turns the lights on, finding the Doctor near the sofa. She is ready to hit him again, getting on top of the sofa. The Doctor is cornered against the dinner table.

"Martha, Martha…Remember when I was John Smith? The Time Lord watch? The one that rewrote my biology, turning me human? The boys, the academy? I was a teacher! You were…"

"A maid!"

"YES! You were a…" Martha swings again. The Doctor ducks and she hits the enormous vase on the table. "Okay! Okay! The weeping angels? "Don't blink", remember? Sally Sparrow!"

Martha almost hits him on the arm.

""The Martha Jones Chronicle!" It's all there!"

She tries to hit the Doctor one more time, but fails again. The Doctor runs away, jumping over the coffee table.

"WAIT!" The Doctor screams, reaching the curtains. Martha notices now the strange form that was hiding behind her white curtains as the Doctor pulls them to the side. "Could I have faked this?"

The Doctor is showing the TARDIS. The one and only crazy, beautiful and fantastic police box, with its own shade of blue.

Martha drops the bat and comes closer, passing by the Doctor and touching the TARDIS door very gently. It was it. The memories came floating by, memories she had hidden away in her mind. Their first journey together when she met Shakespeare. The trip that got them onto a ship that was falling rapidly into the sun. When she met the face of Boe. The Daleks in New York!

The memories game back like a shiver down her spine. Immediately Martha takes her hand away.

"I can't."

"I came to take you away."

Martha looks at him. This new Doctor had the same eyes, those eyes filled with adventures and wisdom. She looks at the TARDIS and backs away.

"I can't."

"Just come. I'll explain later."

The TARDIS is right in front of her, something she thought would never happen again. Everything comes to her mind: the panic, the fear, The Master and his evil plan. Her family tortured, humiliated, people dying around her while she jumped from country to country with just words to share.

"I'm not going." Martha declares. No, she wouldn't go. Not again, not ever. That was the answer.

"Martha." The Doctor takes her arm gently. His touch feels the same, although it's a different hand. Is that the hand that he had lost in battle or is it the other one? "I'm serious. You need to come with me now."

"No!" Martha lets go of his warm hand. "I won't go. I'm fine without you. I've been fine all these years-"

"Martha, you don't understand!" The Doctor interrupts. "You _have_ to come with me!"

"Why?"

"Because if you don't, you will die."

Martha's heart stops beating and she looks at this new Doctor in shock. The Doctor spoke with fire in his voice. He's mad. Mad? No, that tone in his voice didn't sound like madness. Anger? No, he isn't angry. Martha just said "no" and yet he is still pushing. The Doctor is not mad or angry… but desperate. The Doctor is desperate. If he is desperate like this, it's because he did something.

"What did you do?"

The look on his eyes says everything. The truth is, the Doctor did do anything _per se._ In fact, he had no idea that the plan would backslide like this. Yes, the Queen needed Martha and yes, she had no idea that she needed Marta..._yet_. The best thing to do, was to safe Martha and take her from harms way, before anything even worse could happen. Coming here, the Doctor wanted to save Martha, as much as he could.

"Mummy?"

Martha looks away and so does the Doctor. There stands the little man, with curly black hair and big green eyes. He is wearing blue stripped pyjamas, holding on to his pillow. Weirdly enough, the little boy isn't scared or shaking, instead he looks curious, taking special interest in The Doctor.

"You're a mother?" The new Doctor is surprised. He doesn't take his eyes of the child. He resembles someone. "He looks just like…"

"His father, I know." Says Martha trying to steady her nerves, while she approaches her son. She kneels before him and kisses him on his forehead. "James, what are you doing out of bed?"

"I heard voices. I had to see if you were okay. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Martha assures with a smile. James eyes look at the Doctor.

"Who's the raggedy man?"

The Doctor smiles proudly.

"He's the second person that calls me that."

"A friend, love. Old friend." Said Martha gently. "Off to bed you go."

"What did he mean?" He said you were going to die, mummy.

James's big curious eyes jump from the Doctor to his mother. Martha touches his curly hair gently and smiles.

"It was a joke."

"Far from it." The Doctor says.

Martha censures him with a look, then turns back her attention to her son.

"James, be a good boy and go to bed. It's late."

James gives Martha a very tight hug, takes one last look at the Doctor and then runs upstairs. Martha says nothing until she hears the bedroom door close.

When she turns back to the Doctor, he stops her before she can even talk.

"I can't tell you."

"Then I won't go."

"I will drag you, Martha Jones."

"This is not like the time you showed up outside the restaurant with the TARDIS and a smile and I went off with you. This is not the first time!"

The Doctor looks at her carefully. This isn't the old Martha Jones, this one is different. When the Doctor last saw Martha she was smiley, warm and hugged him so tight he could feel her love pouring out of her. Now she's cold, distant. Something has happened to her in the meantime. Something was lost. Something? No, someone.

"What did you do, Doctor?"

"I'm not the one you should be afraid of, Martha." The Doctor said.

_TO BE CONTINUED..._

**NEXT- Remember that question?**


	4. Chapter 4

**IV **

**REMEMBER THAT QUESTION?**

The Doctor and Martha Jones spend a few seconds just staring at each other. So much has changed these past years. Martha is older – not that much older, just more mature – she has a son now, little James, that is his father spitting image. She is not in UNIT anymore and has no relation to it whatsoever, right now she's only a Dr.

The Doctor, however, has a new face, new legs, new hands, new everything, but he is still the same. Or so does he seem.

While Dr. Jones is having an inner struggle trying to understand what this "new" Doctor wants, he is thinking about a plan to get Martha in the TARDIS and away from her living room. The Doctor does a very fast equation, realizing he has no more than an hour to get Martha away from her house. One hour exactly. By this time the Queen already knows that Martha is the central piece to this operation, it wouldn't be long 'till she landed here on planet earth. A minute more and the Queen would transport in that living room and find them.

"Do want something to eat?" Martha asks, crossing her arms over her chest. She's wearing only shorts and a tank top, both blue. The Doctor accepts, even though he's not hungry and time is flying by. "Okay. I'll be right back."

Martha goes into the kitchen. The Doctor can hear her moving around, opening cabinets and the fridge door, making something for him to eat. Meanwhile, he paces back and forth, thinking of a way to get Martha out of there. Knowing her as well as he did, she would want her family to be safe first. Yes, he has to think of a plan to keep Martha's family safe. His mind works like a thousand fireworks exploding at the same time and eventually he figures it out. Fine, he already has a solution for Martha's family to be safe, now… the only thing he has do to is bring her with him.

He stops pacing and for a moment looks around. He didn't notice before but this room is decorated orange, well orange and white to be more precise. He didn't even know that Martha liked orange.

He sees some shelves packed with pictures in pretty frames. Curious as he is, the Doctor approaches the first picture. He recognizes Martha, with her brother Leo and her sister Tish laughing together at a dinner table. The next one in a wooden frame is of her mother, decorating a birthday cake with extreme concentration. The following showed her father leaning back against his brand new car with a proud look on his face. The rest of them were all Martha having fun and being a young university student.

A white book catches the Doctor's eye on the third shelf. There is a thin layer of dust on the shelf, but there is none around the book. That means that it is often removed. The Doctor picks up the book, walking to the couch and sitting down. He feels guilty sitting down on that beautiful white couch, looking like he had been crossing the desert, but he's so tired.

The Doctor opens the book and lets out a small gasp. It was Martha Jones, dressed in a beautiful wedding gown and a veil that fell down her shoulders. She had a beautiful smile on her face, like she was glowing. She looked beautiful. The Doctor turned the page and laughed. Although the first picture was very "lady like", in the second one Martha and her friends were making funny faces and weird poses. It was a funny picture indeed. The third one let a warm feeling spread across the Doctor's hearts. It was Martha Jones and her fiancée.

"You found it."

Martha's voiced startled the Doctor. She came back carrying a tray with a sandwich and a cup of orange juice. She wore a white cotton robe a little bit too big for her. It probably wasn't hers.

"You married Mickey?"

Martha placed the tray on the coffee table.

"We were together last time I saw you, remember?"

"Yes." The Doctor kept looking at the photo album. The last time he saw Martha Jones was when he regenerated from 10th to 11th. Seemed a life time ago. And it was. "You married Mickey, the Idiot."

Martha shows a soft smile.

"Don't say that, he's not here to defend himself."

"True." The Doctor looks at Mickey's picture. All suited up, with a white bowtie. He looked cool with a bowtie. "Where is he? Where is this sweet idiot?"

"He's dead." Says Martha. The Doctor looks at her in shock. Now it all made sense. Martha wasn't angry when he showed up, she was mourning. That weird glimpse in her eyes was sadness, pure sadness. "It will be two years in September."

Her voice was steady, calm, but her eyes betray her.

"How?"

Martha takes the photo album from the Doctor's hands and places it on top of the table softly.

"He joined UNIT." Martha shows a small smile and looks at the Doctor, examining him closely. She still feels weird next to him. "I'm not accustomed to this new you."

"I'm so sorry, Martha." He seems honest and sincere. He has new eyes, but they show the same feelings as before. "I had no idea."

She sighs heavily, ending the subject. She doesn't want to talk about it, and most certainly she is not going to talk about it with the Doctor.

"What happened? Where have you been…?"

"Martha…"

"Enough talking about me, please." She begs. The Doctor takes a few minutes to prepare himself. He and Mickey were never close like any of the other companions, but he still feels guilty knowing he has died. Mickey, the Idiot. "Why are you here?"

The Doctor stands up and walks around the room. He has new long legs, slightly bowed. It's funny. He paces for long seconds, then stops and looks at Martha like he had forgotten all about her.

"Oh right! Why am I here… Yes… Well, I was flying away through time and space, like I always do, when I got a call. First I thought it was from River…"

"River?"

"My wife."

"What? You got married?"

The Doctor makes funny gestures with his hands, like he was scaring away flies.

_This is new_, Martha thought.

"Very complicated story. I was saving time and space. You're missing the point here! So, the _call_ came from a distant planet called Angiolnyght. Funny name, funny people! I've been there before, long time ago, barely remembered it and didn't even think someone would remember my existence! So, I went there, parked the TARDIS and when I came out… It was a mess! I parked in the middle of a civil war."

"Really? Were you under attack?"

"What? Oh no! It's civil war, but the people in Angiolnyght are very civil, you can feel the tension, but nobody actually dies on the streets. It's not here, on earth, where every single corner is in war."

"That's us, humans. So, technically, they're not at war then…"

"It's a war to them! Whatever, Martha you're missing the point, _again_! I walked out the TARDIS and there's a girl standing right there. As if she was waiting for me. Which makes sense, having in mind that I got her call. Turns out, she was the Princess."

"Princess?" Asks Martha. "You're friends with royalty?"

The Doctor touches what's left of his bowtie.

"Why are you surprised?"

Martha smiles. The Doctor claps hands, he is on a roll, Martha is smiling and he might just be able to convince her in less than an hour.

"Well, the Princess Buma asked me for help. Apparently 3 days before, the King, Queen and the Royal Council were found dead."

"How?"

"They were killed in their sleep. The Princess wasn't in the castle, she was lucky."

"How did they die?"

"Let's see if you can guess what killed them." The Doctor sat down close to Martha with eyes glowing and excitement all over his face. "When they were found dead, their lips were blue. Three days later their tongue was black and their eyes were white."

"Some kind of poison?"

"Good! But it wasn't "some kind", it was homemade. But we'll get there in a second."

The Doctor says. He shows Martha his brand new smile and she smiles as well. He gets up again.

"Now, who could have done it? The new Queen was the only one in the castle and was the one who found them. The poison in their system was made by her Chemist. And no, no one else can do it and you won't find it anywhere else."

"Wait… "Martha said. "Where's the mystery? She obviously did it."

"That's where you're wrong, there is a mystery, Martha Jones!"

The Doctor looks right at her, so intensely that for a moment Martha loses herself. He seats down on the coffee table.

"No one believes she did it. Even though she was the one who found their corpses and the poison in their system was made by her Chemist. Get it? The "home made"–"

"Yes I got it, but it's obvious."

"Obvious, to us. Not to the Angiolnithians." The Doctor leans over Martha like he was telling her a secret. "It's like she has them on this spell. The people can't see what she truly did. No one even dares to point her the finger. It's like… It's… They just can't see it…"

"It's like she has some kind of perception filter. Like the TARDIS."

The Doctor looks at Martha and shows a big smile.

"Close, but not exactly!" It was strange to hear this new voice complementing her, but it was still her Doctor. "No one suspects her. The truth is right there, it's so obvious it can blind you, but they don't see it."

The new Queen has now taken over the planet. The other Kings are now Lords of their lands, she is the sole ruler. But she can't ever have true control if she doesn't take the Princess off her way.

"The Princess is the rightful heir."

"Yes."

"But the Queen doesn't have to worry, after all the people already believe her."

"No, no, not entirely!" The Doctor stands up and starts walking back and forth. "When I got there the Princess was with a small group of people, The Resistance. They are the only ones who don't believe in the new Queen. Somehow they can resist to her words. I'm also immune to it."

"Am I immune?"

The Doctor stops walking.

"You're human, Martha." Meaning: Martha was vulnerable to the Queens words. Humans are always vulnerable. He starts pacing again. "So, the Resistance believes that that the new Queen killed the King, the old Queen and the Council. They see the obvious like we do! And obviously to the new Queen…"

"The Princess can't be alive. She can't never have true power and control while a member of blood of the old royal family still lives. The Princess knows that the new Queen killed her parents and the Council. She can't tell anyone, because no one would believe her."

"Ah! Yes!" The Doctor sits down on the coffee table again and Martha's heart pounds against her chest. She was back again. "I got to the Princess. She explained everything to me, obviously the Queen is the villain in this story, but the Princess can't tell anyone the truth, because they are in some sort of…"

"Hypnosis!"

The Doctor smiles again. He took a glimpse at the clock, he had just lost fifteen minutes.

"Turns out, the Princess needed to run, so I gave her a transporter bracelet."

"Just like Jack's?"

"A lot better that Jack's, but the same kind. I pressed random coordinates and she transported like expected. What I didn't expect was to get caught." The Doctor's eyes wander off. "The Queen kept me captive for days, weeks. Terrible food, terrible conditions… she wanted me to tell her where the Princess was."

"You never did."

"I wouldn't be the Doctor if I did" He smiles proudly. "I had powerful information, she wouldn't kill me and risk losing it, so she kept me on the edge of her knife. Until she made her last move and it brought me here."

Martha tenses up. This is a critical point. The Doctor talks about being called to the throne room, being surrounded by guards and talks about the cards. At this point Martha feels a sudden rush of cold air and crosses her arms. "She wanted me to choose between all of you."

"So you picked out my name at random? Out of the cards?"

The Doctor looks at her. He could lie, he could, but instead of lying he just… hides some part of the truth. _Yes, Martha_ _it was totally random. I had no intentions._

"I gave her your name." He says. Martha has no reaction and the Doctor continues, thinking that explaining it will make it better. "I only thought, either she can choose and kill you or I can choose and save you."

"So… You _gave her_ my name."

"I had too, Martha." Martha stands up and walks around her living room. "I couldn't let her choose Rose…"

Martha chokes and lets out a nervous laugh.

"Of course. Always Rose."

"It's not like that!" The Doctor argues.

"How is it then?" Martha asks revolted. "You gave my name, so some deranged Queen could fly across the galaxies and kill me."

"It had to be you, Martha! Rose is in a parallel world! To get to her they would have to burn galaxies. I couldn't let her touch Donna, if she even hears my name she'll die."

"Jack can't die! Why not him?"

"The new Queen wants to know where the Princess is. To know that she has to get to my weakness. My weak spot is life, yours, Rose, Donna, Amy, Rory, River even Jack, no matter how many they can be. She can't hurt me with Jack, he can't die! The new Queen wants me to get desperate enough to give her the Princess's location; she wouldn't be able to hit my weak spot with Jack. He's immortal!"

Martha looks at the Doctor reading his brand new big eyes.

"There's something you're not telling me."

The Doctor sighs.

"Martha, please. I've told you every single thing there is to tell you. This new Queen wants to get me, I'm what she needs to get to the Princess. In order to break me, she ordered me to choose…"

"And you chose me!"

"Martha, it had to be you. Your life does not endanger anyone else, your life does not…"

"_Matter_?" Martha's voice cracks. The Doctor searches for patience in the deep corners of his persona and remains silent. He couldn't tell Martha that she was fundamental to save the Princess. There was a plan behind this, a bigger picture but he couldn't tell Martha just yet. Of course her life mattered. She was Martha flipping Jones, of course she mattered! "You… you had no right!"

"It had to be you."

"Why me?"

"Can't you see? You're brilliant, Martha! If your name came up it's because I knew I could come here and take you with me. You are strong. You saved me once! You can handle anything!" The Doctor grabs Martha's hand. "We don't have too much time. She will find us. You have to come with me."

"My son…"

"We will come back. We'll be gone for 2 minutes."

"No, it's not like that!" Martha steps away. "What will happen if she doesn't find me. What if she finds my mum, Tish, Leo…or James?" Martha's heart sinks. "I can't go. I won't go."

"Martha."

"I will not leave him!" She argues. "I'm sorry, but he's my son and I will not leave him. James already lost his father."

"I came here to take you with me."

"No, you came here to try and solve the mess you made by giving my name to a murderer wearing a crown"

Martha looks the Doctor straight in the eye.

"Mum?" Martha looks at the door and little James is standing right there. He comes close and grabs her hand gently. "You should go."

"Go to bed, James."

The Doctor crouches so he can look James in the eye.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor."

"I know."

"How do you know?"

"Dad talked about you. He called you stupid." The Doctor laughs and so does James. "Will you save my mum?"

"I'm trying, she won't let me. Do you want to say something that might change her mind?"

James looks at his mother, grabbing her warm hand. His face lightens up in a smile.

"You should trust him…" James puts one hand on the Doctor's shoulders. "He's the Doctor."

Martha smiles. The Doctor gets back to his feet.

"I promise you she won't get to him, but if we're going we have to go now, Martha! We have less than 30 minutes before she lands here. Your family will be alright. I promise you."

"I can't believe I'm doing this again." Martha turns to her son. "James, sweetie, go get dressed, while I call aunt Tish. Someway, somehow I have to tell her the Doctor is here and that I have to run. _Again."_

_TO BE CONTINUED..._

**NEXT: V – IT'S JUST LIKE RIDING A BIKE**


	5. Chapter 5

**_*I've re-written this episode.*_**

**V**

**IT'S JUST LIKE RIDING A BIKE.**

Martha is looking for clothes to wear. There is no way, she's running wearing nothing but booty shorts and a tank top. She picks a pair of jeans, but they are too tight on her waist. She finds a shirt, but it has a huge stain. Her hands are shaking, her heart is pounding and she is starting to feel a light headache. The moment she's been avoiding all along, has come. The Doctor was here and they needed to run. Again.

Eventually she finds a pair of black jeans, a white shirt with no sleeves and a black leather jacket.

She hears the front door open - thank God she had given Tish a spare key in case of emergencies. Even though, Martha is in the second floor, she can clearly hear her sister's gasp and her voice saying "_Oh my God_!"

Right after that, Tish is running with her feet pounding upstairs.

"_Martha! Martha!"_

"I'm here, Tish!"

Martha sits down on her bed trying to put her boots, when Tish shows up at her bedroom door. She is wearing old jeans, a black sweatshirt and her hair is loose.

"I thought I'd never see that blue box again!"

"Me too."

"What's happening?" Tish walks into the room and sits next to her sister waiting for an explanation. "Martha!"

"It's complicated."

"It's always complicated with him! Tell me!"

Martha looks at her sister and explains what happened. That the Doctor had said that her live was in danger, that he showed up to take her away from here. That he was different, with a new face, new eyes and new mannerisms. He didn't say "Brilliant" anymore and looked older. That this new Queen somehow hypnotized people with her words, they fell in love with what they said and would not believe that she had killed the entire royal family.

Tish listens quietly, but her face mirrors her true feelings. Her eyes were so open that, for a second, Martha imagines them popping out and rolling on the floor. When Martha shuts up, Tish gets up.

"He gave this new Queen your name? What, he wants you killed now!? You saved him!"

"Tish, this is not about me."

"It's your life!"

"This is about the Princess, we need to get to her." Guarantees Martha. Actually, she knows that her life is on the balance, but she prefers to think that this mission is about finding this Princess and eventually saving herself. "And we will."

"You are awfully calm about this, Martha." Tish says. Finally she takes a look at her sister. That has been arranging her hair and clothes. "You're going. You. Are. Going!?"

"I thought that was obvious."

"You have a son now, Martha. You have James!"

"Please, don't use the "you're a mother" card. I'm already having a hard time here. I love James, but the Doctor needs me."

"Do you hear yourself? You're leaving your son for the Doctor!" Martha grunts and Tish continues. "You know I'm right, don't make that face."

"Tish, you're not helping. I'm not leaving James, he's staying with you and I will come back."

"Well, I'm sorry, that's how I feel" ― Said Tish. Martha looks at her sister and saw something in her eyes. Tish wasn't acting like a brat, that wants her will do be law, she was scared for her sister. Tish knew the effect that "the year that never was" had on her sister, plus Mickey's death and she was afraid that this was a weird scape from reality. It was an scape, but a very dangerous one. "I'm scared for you."

"You're scared for yourself." Tish shakes her head, not believing what she had heard. "I have too. The Doctor needs me. Trust him. I sure do."

"You just said he wasn't the same."

Martha wanted to believe he was, deep down, the same Doctor.

"He's the Doctor, no matter what face he has."

"Last time he needed you…"

"I know what happened last time, Tish!" ― Martha stands up and walks up to her closet. "There's a book saga about it, that does not let me forget."

"Fine, what am I doing here?"

James comes running in the bedroom. He's wearing jeans and a t-shirt, just in case something goes wrong. Martha picks him up and sits him on the bed, next to her sister. Martha looks at her sister. It hurt Martha so much to put her sister in these crazy plans, but it is necessary.

"I can't leave James alone, but I can't take him with me."

Tish tilts her head with a puzzled look on her face.

"Wait…Isn't the new Queen coming here? To find _you?"_ Asks Tish. "What happens if she doesn't find you, Martha?! Instead she finds, _me?!"_

"Don't worry, there's the escape route and the house!"

"What makes you think it will help me?"

"There's a UNIT phone there." Martha said. "Get over there, find the phone, dial UNIT's red number and they will come guns blazing."

"You are..._unbelievable_. Why can't I take James to my house?"

"No! This cannot spread. Stay here and it's best contained. I want you to stay here with James and, if the Queen comes please, _please, _ don't let her get close to him. You go to the safe house, call UNIT and wait. For everything sacred, do not listen to a word she says. Don't let her speak."

"Fine."

"Tish...Don't listen to her..."

"I said, fine, Martha! It's hard to believe that _words _can have any power, but...it's the Doctor..."Tish's eyes grew bigger remembering something very important." How about, mum?

Martha sighs heavily. Damn Tish and her wits.

"The Doctor had her relocated."

"What?" Asked Tish. "What do you mean _relocated_?"

"You know in your house, you have all these technologies? Computer, cellphone, television and they all radiate their own of energy. Well, the Doctor inverted that energy, converted them and channeled it to a transporter device he has in the TARDIS. So, basically he transported mum and her house to Scotland. She's going to wake up, look out the window and see a big open field in Nowhere, Scotland. And freak out about it."

"She's going to kill you."

"I know. If I'm not dead by then, she might." Martha says. "Dad's house is in Africa, somewhere in the desert and Leo's is going to wake up in New Zealand. The best part is, even if the new Queen finds them she won't be able to see them because the energy convertor is part of the TARDIS and so…"

"Let me guess. There is some scientific craziness that I can't understand and somehow, they are hidden from the Queen's eyes. Right?"

Martha looks at her sister. Without second thought, Martha rushes to hug Tish. Thank God for Tish.

"Promise me you won't let her take him."

"I won't." Tish hugs her sister tight. They grew so close after everything that had happened. Only now, Martha felt that they were true sisters.

Martha looks at her son that sits on the bed very quietly. He was like a small version of Mickey, so accurate it was scary. James had Martha's black hair with soft curls, but those hazel eyes came from Mickey's side of the family, according to him.

"Will you behave while I'm gone?"

"Yes."

"Best behavior?"

"The very best."

"I won't be out for long. It will be like two minutes for you." The moment Martha said it, she knew it wouldn't be two minutes. Who knows how long can it be? James hugs her tight. "Listen to everything aunt Tish says. She's in charge."

James nods and Martha smiles. She grabs his hand and all together they came downstairs. Martha gets to her living room, the TARDIS is still there but there's no sight of the Doctor.

"Doctor?"

The TARDIS door opens and out comes the Doctor. He's completely different now; he's wearing black trousers, pink shirt, brown suspenders, pink bowtie and a brown jacket. This Doctor has no beard, is no longer dirty and smells like he just soap. His hair is all combed back and wet, though it is still a bit long.

"Who are you?" Tish asks.

"I'm coming out of the TARDIS, who do you think I am, Tish? Honestly!" He says.

"So, this is your style now?" Martha asks pointing at the Doctor. "Is that a bowtie?" The Doctor touches his brand new bowtie with a proud smile. "Looking good. I liked you better in the brown suit, though."

"Yes, well...You always liked me in a suit, didn't you?" The Doctor looks at Martha with a smile and winks. Martha does her best not to look ashamed. She did her best to not remember that, once her heart had beaten to the sound of the Doctor's words. Once she was madly in love with a mad man. "Come along, Dr. Jones ,we've wasted too much time here." He stops and looks at Martha. "That actually sounds good. Amy wouldn't like that very much."

"Who?"

"Never mind me. I'm talking out loud. I do that a lot now. Hello, James!"

"Hi." James says with a smile.

"Do you like me without beard?" The Doctor asks touching his chin. James just smiles. "I was becoming very fond of it, actually." The Doctor looks James right in his eyes and stares for a while with grave attention. "Humm...James..."

"Yes?"

"Where did you find those amazing green eyes?"

"Mickey's side of the family." Said Martha touching James's hair. "I guess his grandfather on his father side had eyes just like these. It skipped a generation."

"No..." Said the Doctor coming closer to James, almost touching his nose in the child's nose. "Something's different here. Emerald green...so vivid...so alive...I feel like I'm looking in a mirror. Young body, old soul. Such deepness. You're a very smart boy, aren't you?"

"I like to learn."

"Best of your class?"

"The very best."

"Yes..." The Doctor showed a soft smile. "You're like a mini-Doctor. Are you sure you're your father's son?"

Martha rolled her eyes and pushed the Doctor away in a friendly way

"Stop it." The Doctor makes a face, a weird face. Martha kisses her son one more time. "I'll be back soon. Best behaviour, James." Then she hugs her sister again. "Don't listen to the Queen. Nothing."

Martha waves good bye one more time, then goes inside the TARDIS while the Doctor falls back for a few seconds. He gives Tish a cellphone.

"I'll send someone to help, don't worry. You're safe. I've got you."

"Do you, really?" Tish asks. "I haven't forgot, you know? The Master and his plane. It's not fun being trapped and treated like a house maid..."

"I'm sorry. I truly am."

"Yes, well.." Tish sighed and showed a soft smile. "I'm not mad at you anymore. I'm here because of you, after all. Take care of my sister, Doctor."

"You know I will, Tish." The Doctor turns to James, bends over to look at his green eyes one more time. "Green eyed James, you're going to love this bit."

The Doctor leaves Tish and James with a small wave, then goes inside the TARDIS. He finds Martha standing a few feet away from the door, looking in awe at the brand new TARDIS.

"You redecorated."

"Yes. I used to have a pool, but I had to burn it. "

"It looks a lot better actually."

The Doctor smiles at her, runs up the ramp and pushes the leaver up. Martha holds on and could not help but laugh while hearing that typical TARDIS noise.

She remembered her first trip perfectly. It was so bumpy and crazy. She ended up meeting Shakespeare and fighting witches, that weren't really witches, but aliens that got their power from words. Also remembered that, by then, she was in love with that crazy Doctor, but he was in love with Rose Tyler.

Martha Jones had all the reasons to hate Rose Tyler. Rose had been Mickey's girlfriend back in the day – ah! When Mickey told her, Martha was not amused at all. She asked herself:

_Am I destined to always end up with Rose's sloppy seconds?_

After all Rose was the first companion, Martha was second. Rose dated Mickey and Martha married him.

The moment the Doctor said her name, Martha knew there was something going on between the two. There were always something in his eyes when thinking of her or the way he suddenly ended a conversation when remembering Rose. Martha knew the Doctor had feelings for Rose and sometimes it felt like the Doctor forgot all about Martha. Yes, he recognized that Martha had the brains and the skills, but she always felt like second best. Until "the year that never was".

Martha could hate Rose, but she didn't. Martha met Rose once and she was really nice. No, she didn't hate her.

"Now what?" Martha asks. "Where are we going?"

"Well, I transported the Queen to a random planet. I have no idea where she might be, I don't even know if the planet she's in is friendly or not."

"How are we going to find her?"

"The vortex manipulator lets out a trace across time and space, whenever used. It's very light, almost imperceptive, but the TARDIS can pick it up, I just have to…" The Doctor takes out his new sonic screw driver from his pocket and points at the TARDIS system.

The Doctor presses a few buttons on the side and, just like that, the TARDIS shakes really hard, making Martha loose her balance and fall.

"I'm never getting used to this!"

The TARDIS shakes, shakes and shakes like a cocktail mixer. Martha tries to stand up, eventually realizing that the best thing to do is just sit down and hang on.

"Oh!" The Doctor says looking at the monitor just above his head. He's also struggling to hold, but he has better practice than Martha. "Oh!" He says again. "OH!"

"What?"

"I had no idea that I sent her there!"

"Where?"

The Doctor looks at the TARDIS.

"Why would you do this? There's no one there! It's a dead planet!"

"Doctor, can you please talk to the person and not the machine! What's going on?"

"The Princess went far! Pretty far!"

" What does far mean?!"

"It means pretty far! The TARDIS rewrote the coordinates and sent her pretty far within Angiolnyght's system. Sent her to a dead planet."

"Dead?"

The TARDIS landed roughly as always. Both Martha and the Doctor fall to the ground and burst out laughing really hard. The Doctor helps Martha get up and then they hug.

"I missed this." Martha said while hugging the Doctor.

"I know you did."

Martha breaks up the hug, looking at the door.

"Where are we?"

"Let's find out."

They both walk outside and the first thing they see, or better, _feel_ is the pouring cold rain.

"OH!" Martha screamed in shock when the cold water hit against her body. "IT'S POURING!"

It was pitch dark around, the ground was muddy due to the rain and it was freezing. The Doctor didn't mind the heavy rain, he was looking around trying to see anything.

"It's a dead planet. It doesn't rain on a dead planet." The Doctor said., He looked at the TARDIS. "What planet is this, old girl? Why here?"

"You don't know where we are?"

"Yes, no..."

"Yes or no?"

"No, I have no idea where we are. Sorry, Martha. The TARDIS did this I have no idea."

"Very nice of you to blame it on the time travelling machine!"

"Oi! It's the truth!"

"Oh you have to be kidding me! You dragged me from earth to this soaking planet and you have no idea where we are?! How can that even be, you always know where we are. Always!"

"Not this time. This planet didn't even show up on the readings. It's dead and...well, invisible."

"How can a planet be― Can we speak inside, I'm freezing here!"

The rain falls down like pebbles from the sky. The ground is all mud and puddles. Looking around, now that her eyes were adjust do the darkness, Martha can see some trees surrounding them. They aren't in the forest, they are in the middle of a road. Martha's eyes fix on something coming closer from far.

"Doctor!" Martha pulls him and points at the darkness in front of them. There, far away, two white dots are approaching. "Is that a car?"

The dots grow bigger and bigger. Martha is right it is transportation, but it isn't a car. Well, looks like it, but it doesn't have any wheels, somehow it moves throw the air. It floats.

"How can there be hovering cars on a dead planet, Doctor?"

The Doctor didn't answer. He was just as confused.

It was black metallic, when it approached it turns slightly to the right, doors open so the Doctor and Martha can get in. Steps come down in order to help them in the task.

A man with heavy red beard and long hair looks at them from the driving seat.

"Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"I'm Constantine. The Princess awaits your presence. Get in."

_TO BE CONTINUED..._

**_NEXT – VI - The Castle, the Army and the Princess_**


	6. Chapter 6

**VI **

**HONESTY HOUR**

The Doctor and Martha both sit in the back of this hovering car. The man in the driving seat pulls a big leaver next to the steering wheel closing the door behind them. Outside the rain falls violently. Just the sound of it it's like rocks were falling from the sky and not water.

They are both soaking wet, but unlike Martha, who doesn't like cold rain that much, the Doctor isn't even bothered. He has a purpose; the rain is a mere meaningless happening. The man driving the hover car, has is head covered by shadows and the only light is the headlights showing the path in ahead of them.

"Where are we?" Asks Martha quietly. The Doctor does not answer; he looks at the back of the driver's head. The Driver's hair is ginger, but not the natural carrot type, more like a dark scarlet. Thin locks of hair were braided with small tokens at the end. "Doctor?"

He raises one finger to Marta's lips, silencing her.

"Excuse me, but where are we?" The Doctor asks.

The man in front raises one hand, turning on a switch above his head, lighting up the car. It was pretty roomy inside, which was kind of amazing having it fact that it looked pretty small. It has leather seats; the dashboard was full of flickering lights, buttons and a big red leaver. The space between the front and the back seat is big enough for the Doctor to stretch his skinny long legs.

"Caleb 23, My Lord." The man answers.

Martha looks at the Doctor confused and finds him astonished.

"Did he just called you "my lord"?"

"Caleb 23..."

"What about Caleb...?"

"Shush, Martha." The Doctor approaches the front seat. He places his elbows on the leather seat looking at the man's profile. "Caleb 23. I thought you lot were eradicated."

"Not at all, my Lord." The man says, turning the stirring wheel to the left. "We are just very good at playing dead."

"Very good indeed. My records showed no sign of life whatsoever. You are dead! All dead!"

"If we are dead, how come we're having this conversation, my Lord?"

"Yes...how indeed."

"Just sit back, my Lord. You'll see the Princess soon."

The Doctor takes a glimpse at Martha, that keeps looking out the window, and gets closer to the driver.

"So, she fell here. On this planet?

"Yes, my Lord."

"How is she?"

Constantine remains silent for a few minutes, managing the stirring wheel. Finally sighs and speaks.

"I don't know how she was the last time you saw her, my Lord, but she has gotten worse these past days."

"Days?" The Doctor asks. Of course. Time wasn't linear, it was just…complicated. One hour on earth, could be 3 days in Caleb 23. Not forgetting that he was imprisoned by the Queen and had no sense of time. The Doctor scratched his long bushy hair. "What is "worse"?"

The driver looks at the Doctor. Constantine has grey eyes so intense that it feels as if he is reading the Doctor's soul, but does not reply. That look said everything, even though there weren't any words. The Princess is worse. Time is flying by.

The ancient time traveler closes his eyes, wishing he wasn't too late.

_Damn you, Marta Jones and your demands for explanation. _

The moment he thought this, he blamed himself. Martha had the right to ask questions. He sits back next to Martha and exhales loudly.

"Can you tell me, where I am?"

"Caleb 23, didn't you hear the man?"

"Where exactly is Caleb 23?"

"Deep into space. No need telling you."

"Well, you were wrong then. You said this was a dead planet."

"Yes, Martha, thank you for that insightful note. We're not on a dead planet! What's wrong with you? You used to be less obvious. You're..._boring_, now!"

"You came to me, remember that. You screwed up!"

"Let's not play the blaming game. There's a lot more going on here. Can we focus on how we're on a dead planet, that is not that dead after all!"

Martha looks at the driver. There was no need in talking to the Doctor, he obviously wouldn't answer her and would spend most of their time insulting her. Maybe the driver would be nicer.

"How did you know we were coming?"

"Satellites, my Lady." Said Constantine. "We have them around our orbit. We are in constant vigilance."

"Why?"

Constantine looks at the review mirror, his eyes meeting Martha's.

"The new Queen's arm stretches to a very long distance, my Lady."

"Martha." She says. "Just, Martha no need for "my Lady"."

"It is protocol, my Lady."

"Yes, but you can break it with me ." Constantine does not continue the conversation, he is too busy maneuvering the hover car through heavy rain and a dark road. Martha looks at the Doctor for answers, but instead he shrugs. "So, that means that you are constantly vigilant, for what she can do?"

"Yes." Answers Constantine.

"What _can_ she do?" Martha asks. Constantine says nothing. He remains silent without adding nothing to the conversation and keeps driving. "Why do I only get half answers?"

Suddenly the Doctor looks at Martha, with a grave look on his face.

"Martha, you were right…"

"About what?"

"There is much more to tell you, but I can't quite share it with you. Not right now at least." Martha looks at the Doctor without saying a word. "You will have to trust me."

Martha sees in the Doctor's eyes something that she hadn't seen in a while. Something big, something dangerous lays ahead and only the Doctor knew. She swallows hard trying to dissolve the knot in her throat, but she is worried. Her thoughts went to Tish and James. Silently she prays that they're safe and invisible.

Behind them the TARDIS is being pulled gently, it hovers inches above ground never minding the heavy rain. The landscape does not change for the time they're hovering, the rain keeps pouring around them and the darkness remains constant.

"Oh wow." Martha leans forward. "Is that a castle?"

The Doctor looks to the front and sees the castle. A real life castle, like the ones you would see in epic movies. Martha looks to her right, through the heavy rain she sees a high tower with spotlights and the shadows of men moving on top. On the left side, is the same high tower with spotlights pointing to the darkness and men watching.

The driver takes out a walkie talkie.

"This is Redheaded Crow, calling Castle. _Over."_

A few static noises and clicks, then a feminine voice came through.

"_This is Castle_. _Go ahead, Redhead Crow. Over."_

The Driver slows down while approaching the massive iron gates.

"I have the Doctor, his box and his companion, as expected. Permission to come inside. _Over."_

"_Permission granted, Redheaded Crow. Doors opening now. Over and out."_

Martha looks at the Doctor, but he is does not look at her. Those words "as expected" were ringing in Martha's ear, but she knows better than to ask the Doctor what did the driver means, so she remains in silence.

Seconds later the iron gates open and the car hovers in. Lights illuminate the hovering car as it crosses the bridge. One spotlight of each tower focuses on the car as it moves. They were being watched.

The doors open showing a wood bridge hanging over darkness. The car moves gently, they are covered from the rain and now hover towards the main castle doors. Behind them the iron gates close, but they are still followed by spotlights.

They are almost at the end of the bridge, Martha sees ahead enormous wooden doors. The car stops for a split second while the wooden doors open. They are so massive, that their opening makes a loud but low noise and it the sends vibration all through the car. When the doors are open, light comes out and the car hovers in.

The hover car stopped at this atrium. Martha looks around seeing men walking around dressed in black, with serious faces and guns on their belts. A group of them jogged past the hovering car, without even taking a second look. Further away was another small group were the men were cleaning guns. Martha looks over her shoulder and sees a group of men pushing the doors close leaving the cold rain outside.

Constantine pushed buttons and turns off lights, suddenly the hovering car is gently landing on the ground along with the TARDIS.

"Welcome to the castle." He presses a button and the doors open The Doctor comes out of the car with a jump and Martha does the same. Constantine joins them and now he's eyes are a bit darker than before, but still grey. He is very tall, almost as tall as the Doctor and he is also very well built.

"I'm sorry, I cannot stay, but you must stay here the Colonel will want to see you, my Lord."

"No need for that, Constantine. You can call me the Doctor." The Doctor touches Constantine's shoulder and he looks at the Doctor's hand with a raised eyebrow. The Doctor gently removes his hand. "Not used to touch then…"

"Quite, sir. We keep our touching at minimum."

"That's weird." Martha says. "How can you not touch someone? Are you afraid of catching a virus or something?"

Constantine looks at Martha with attention. His eyes go from her head, to the top of her toes.

"It's far too complicated for a human. Specially a _female_ one." He says with a monotone voice.

Martha raises an eyebrow and crosses her arms.

"Well, that's pretty funny coming from a ginger whose afraid of being touched!"

They stare at each other fiercely.

"Constantine!" A powerful voice echoes throw the stone atrium. A tall man with grey hair, brown eyes and a protuberant nose is coming down the stones that lead to inside the castle. "Go back to your station." Constantine salutes and walks away silently while the Colonel approaches. The Colonel is followed by too other men, dressed as black and carrying guns. His long leather jacket is flying behind him while walking straight and tall. He walks like a man in a powerful position. "Doctor!"

The Colonel salutes to the Doctor.

"No, no…no need for that." The Colonel drops his arm. "You are the Colonel, I assume."

"You are right." The man says. He looks at Martha with attention. "Is this the asset?"

""Asset"? Martha asks offended. She looks at the Doctor looking for explanation. "Since when am I an "asset"?" The Doctor does not answer. "I'm Dr. Martha Smith-Jones."

"I know. I've heard." The Colonel salutes Martha as well. "Your work at UNIT is remarkable."

"No need for salute and I left UNIT."

"You did? Asked the Doctor surprised. Martha nodded and the time Lord let a "hum".

Martha touches the Doctor on the shoulder and shows the Colonel a huge smile.

"Colonel, could you please give us a minute?" The Colonel walks a few steps and Martha pushes the Doctor aside and speaks in a whisper. "Why am I an "asset"?"

"Why did you leave UNIT?"

"I asked you first!"

"Martha, not now."

"Not now"? Your show up in my house, saying that my life is in danger and that I might die, then you tell me that there is something more going on and now you won't answer me." The Doctor does not say a word. "How big is this?"

"Bigger than big." The Doctor answers. Martha is ready to talk back, but the Doctor cuts her off. "Martha, we are on a schedule here. I will tell you, I promise you but right now, I need to see the Princess. I need to make sure she's okay, it's my responsibility, you know that." The Doctor approaches the Colonel leaving Martha behind.

"Colonel, can you take me to the Princess?" The Colonel makes his way back to the stairs, followed by the Doctor, Martha and the two armed men. "How is she?"

"I heard news before you came and the Princess was already up. No fever."

They were crossing a bridge, this one made of iron. Underneath there were tents and people moving around. It was just like a military camp, but inside a castle.

"What was wrong with her?" Asks Martha.

"The Princess fell ill when landing, but the worst part is over." The Colonel looks over at the Doctor . "May I congratulate you in transporting the Princess here, sir?"

"He didn't do anything, the TARDIS did!" Said Martha.

"Will you stop it?" Begged the Doctor. " I was flying the TARDIS, there fore I brought her here, even though this planet was supposedly dead!"

They had crossed the bridge and walking through a corridor lighted by torches. Soldiers passed by in a hurry, some running others just walking, but all saluted the Colonel.

"Caleb 23 was an ally to Angiolnyght once, before the new Queen formed alliance with the Daleks and they attacked us. Bringing her here was the safest decision." Said de Colonel.

"Daleks?" Martha looks at the Doctor while walking. "The new Queen has an allegiance with the Daleks?"

"Didn't I tell you?" The Doctor asks. Martha says shakes her head. "Humm…I guess I was talking with my conscience. Sorry for that. I do that a lot, now. Oh and Colonel, no need for "sir" just Doctor."

"When were you attacked?" Asks Martha.

"Days after the Queen took power. It came out of nowhere, everything around us was fire and smoke. The Queen was relentless and the Daleks murderous. We've lost so many…" The Colonel turns right. A group of woman soldiers carrying folders, stop and salute. The Colonel acknowledges them. "So, we formed this base camp. All the population is underground…"

"Underground?"

"In the caves" The Colonel says. "Is not the best solution, but it is the safest." He turns left. "The truth is the Daleks have left our planet, but you never know when they can come back. Our sources sent us "code red" today."

"Code red?" Asks Martha. "What does it mean?"

"It means "alert". White means we are safe. Green means we are being watched. Yellow tells eminent attack. Red means alert." The Colonel stops and smiles. "Hopefully, this will all stop before the Queen even dreams checking on us again." He points to the left, showing a elevator.

The fact that an archaic monument like a castle had an elevator, would mind blow any other person, but Martha was more than accustomed to mind blowing events. The Colonel presses the down button and the old engines start moving. Martha could see the cables going up, as the big metal box came down. " The Princess is waiting for you upstairs."

"I thought you would be joining us, Colonel." The Doctor says.

"I would, but we have to remain vigilant." The Colonel says. "We need to be prepared. The Queen does not forget for long."

The elevator came, the two armed men open slide the metal doors so Martha and the Doctor can get in. One of them presses the 3rd button. The Colonel salutes again, both Martha and the Doctor shake their heads and make faces.

"No…just don't…"

"No need for that, thank you." The Colonel leaves as soon as the doors shut. The metal box begins its rise to the top. Martha looks at the Doctor, he looks truly worried. "So, the Princess…" The Doctor looks at her. "I'm thinking she's a child."

"A child? What makes you think she's a child?"

"It makes sense." The Doctor looks to her looking very confused. So, Martha elaborates. "The ruler was the King, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, if he was the only one dead the old Queen would be the ruler and the Council would do his purpose. If the King is dead, along with the Queen, then Council would rule. If you have no King, no Queen and no Council there's no one to rule the country. But here, you have a Princess. Even if the King and the old Queen were dead, the Princess would be the ruler and Council would do…well, counseling.

The fact that there is no Princess in this line of succession, which can mean that (1) she does not want to be involved in the royal lifestyle – that's why she wasn't in the castle on the night her parents and the Council were killed, (2) she's underage, not ready to be a Queen yet and was away attending some sort of "How-To-Be-A-Queen" school. And you would only go through all this effort if she was a child."

The Doctor looks at Martha and shows her a smile.

"That's a very good theory, Martha Jones."

"Thank you."

"Yes. Very good. Excellent." The elevator stops and the doors open. "You're wrong, though."

The Doctor walks out leaving, turning left Martha behind. They were inside a bedroom decorated with worm colors.

"What do you mean, I'm wrong?"

"I mean you are wrong." He looks at Martha. "Still, very good theory."

A woman walks towards them. She wears a white long dress; her eyes are dark and kind. Around her neck she carries a long necklace with chains.

"Doctor." She comes forward with a soft smile and soft bow. The woman looks at Martha. "Martha Jones."

"How do you know who I am?"

"Everyone knows who you are." Martha avoids rolling her eyes, but she is seriously becoming annoyed with all this secrets. The nurse is old enough to be Martha's mother, her black hair is tied up and one can see the light shades of grey. "I'm Elga, the Princess's nurse."

"Hello, Elga."The Doctor says. "I came here to see the Princess."

"Follow me." The nurse walks away. The Doctor follows; Martha does the same.

"The reason your theory is wrong, Martha Jones is because, (1) she's not a child, like I have said before and (2)...― The Doctor stops walking, then turns to Martha with grave look. "She's been sick. She has been sick her whole life, no one truly know what's wrong with her or how to cure it, and there was never too much hope for her to live beyond her childhood. That's way she wasn't in the line of succession, not formally at least, because they knew she wouldn't last long. Even now, the tiniest of things can make her weak and she can die. The Queen knows this, but she still needs the Princess out of her way in order to be truly confortable on her throne. That's why the Queen wanted the Princess."

The Doctor walked away catching Elga's pace and Martha did the same.

"The Princess has been ill these past days..." Said Elga walking towards some double wooden door "but her fever has gone down. She is still very tired, however she wants to see you. Do not take long, the Princess needs every second to rest."

"What is wrong with her?" Asks Martha.

"The Princess is in a very fragile state and the commotion of the transportation through the vortex worsen her condition." The woman stops in front of double doors and pushes them. The bedroom is worm; decorated in worm colours like red and orange. On the floor there's a big red carpet and the bed is big, filled with fluffy pillows. The room is surrounded by candles. "My dear Princess..." The nurse approaches the bed. "The Doctor is here."

A heavy sigh echoes the room. The Doctor approaches the bed, softly grabbing the Princess's hand. Martha remains by the door, she can't see the Princess, but she felt that she needed to stay put.

"Hello, Buma." The Doctor says in a soft voice.

"Doctor. You came." Her voice was hoarse and low, no more that a soft whisper.

"Yes, I did. I promised you. I didn't come alone, though. I have Martha with me." The Doctor looks over his shoulder. "Come closer."

Martha steps away from the door, coming closer to the bed. The human stands next to the Doctor, when she looks at the Princess she understands why her theory was wrong. Like the Doctor said, the Princess wasn't a child, but young lady. Princess Buma has long black hair with soft waves, she looks very pale and weak, but her eyes remain electric blue. Her pale lips draw a smile when looking at Martha.

"Martha Jones."

The Princess let's go of the Doctor and touches Martha's hand. Her hands are cold and sweaty.

"Hello." Martha said holding her hand. "Your Majesty…"

The Princess smiles, the Doctor turns to Martha.

"You can call her Buma." The Doctor looks at the Princess. "You have to get out of this bed now. I'm here, so is Martha and now we can talk."

"Have you told her, yet?" Asks the Princess. The Doctor makes a funny face.

"Whatever he has to tell me, he hasn't told me yet." Martha jumps in. "He's been keeping something big from me and won't tell me what it is. Can you talk to him?"

"Martha, no ones like a tattletale!" The Doctor says.

He looks at the Princess and Buma is looking at him.

"You lied to her?"

"I didn't lie, Buma." The Doctor argues gently. "I just…well, didn't her everything."

The Princess looks at the Doctor.

"I only had one rule: no lies." Buma is not angry, when she talks to the Doctor, just shows a soft pale smile.

"And I said, that your rule went against my personal rule: The Doctor _always_ lies."

Martha looks at the Doctor, punching him in the arm.

The Princess sighs again heavily, closing her eyes for a second. The nurse jumps in, touching her forehead.

"The Princess needs her sleep." The nurse tucks Buma in. "Follow me, we've arranged for a room for you to stay for the night."

The nurse walks back from the bedroom closing its door as soon as the Doctor and Martha walk away. She turns left, pushing open another bedroom door.

"I hope you don't mind sharing a bedroom."

"We've shared a bed once." The Doctor says. Martha doesn't even look at the Time Lord. She just walks right into the room and sits on the bed, arms crossed. "Okay, thank you Elga." The nurse leaves the room quietly. The Doctor claps his hands and walks to the window. ― Oh look, we have a privileged view! ― The Doctor puts his hand out. "It's still raining."

"Doctor…"

"Yes?"

Martha gently pads the bed.

"Come here." The Doctor looks confused. He steps away from the window, drying his hand on his pants. He seats down next to Martha and she looks at him. "James and I have this game, whenever I find out that he's done or broke something, I sit him down and say "Honesty hour". That means that, during that hour he has to come clean and answer truthfully when confronted."

"I'm not a child."

"Some people need to be treated like children."

"I'm not even human."

"That makes you extra special then. You can't keep me in the dark forever. First you wanted to drag out of my house, of my planet. Now that we're here, you wanted to see the Princess, we did that, already. We're sharing a bedroom now and you need to tell me why I'm here! Why do I have the feeling that there's something bigger here. And how come every soul knows me, but I have no idea who they are?"

The Doctor looks at Martha Jones, he scratches his head, then looks at Martha.

"When I gave you name it wasn't at random. It was arranged." The Doctor says. "I knew that the Queen was going to make that cards move, she always does that. So, I thought I would play her game and let her think, she was winning. Do you honestly think, I would let her get to you? That I would give your name just because?"

"Why would she get me?"

"Because of something you know. Something that happened when you were at UNIT."

Martha looks puzzled. She looks into the Doctor's eyes trying to find answers.

"I don't…"

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't. I have no idea what you're talking about."

The Doctor leans forward. Sometimes he just hated having to tell every single detail on a plan. Humans...Why aren't they more intuitive and have bigger brains and are...well, smarter?

"The Queen is looking for something and that "something" is on earth. It's lost. Only you can find it Martha, that's what she wanted you for." Martha keeps a very puzzled look. "You know what I'm talking about!"

"Actually, no."

"What do you mean!? Martha, the meteor..." Martha keeps looking at the Doctor with a completely blank stare now. "It fell from the sky..."

"Well, that's where meteors come from. I really don't know..."

The Doctor cups Martha's head. His hands are worm and his fingers long. The Time Lord looks straight into Martha's eyes.

"You really don't know..." He comes so close that Martha can easily smell the soap of his body. "There's a blank..."

"A blank?"

"Can you remember what you did the night the meteor fell?"

"Doctor..." Martha shakes off the Doctor's hands. "What meteor? What are you talking about?!"

The Doctor seats back, looking at Martha. This was going to be a lot more complicated that he had ever imagined. He gets up and starts pacing around the room. Back and forth. Back and forth. Again, again and one more time. Till he stops mid pacing.

"What do you remember from your first year at UNIT?"

Martha things for a second and a smile shows on her face.

"Well...Professionally, I was promoted. The General really liked my performance as a Dr. And he believed that I had a promising career..." The Doctor starts pacing again." There was nothing special. I mean, we had our usual share of problems and aliens, but nothing as big as before. ― Martha looks at the Doctor and he keeps pacing. "Well, there was some new investigation at Area 51 and I was there with the General..."

"No, not that! No one cares about that!" The Doctor said roughly. Noticing he had startled Martha, he took his seat again next to her companion. "What happened that year? To you."

Martha thinks for a while.

"Mickey and I were dating and he proposed to me. We got married in the spring. Spring weeding..." The Doctor looks at Martha's eyes. "The book! Ah! The first book of the saga "The Year That Never Was" came out..."

"No, no, no..."The Doctor said pointing at Martha. "You and Mickey got married that year. Why?"

Martha snorted and smiled.

"Because he loved me, Doctor."

"No, not _that! _You can be in love and not marry, it's all a matter of perspective_"_.

"And feelings also, because that's the reason. He loved me!"

"No, no...there's something else!" The Doctor said. "Why did you get married?"

Martha sighed heavily.

"I was pregnant. Mickey was a romantic idiot and he thought that the best for the baby was for us to get married and settle down." Martha shows a sweat smile remembering. "Such a romantic idiot..."

"How did you find out that you were pregnant?"

"Erm...A Dr. Told me."

"A Dr.?"

Martha does not even blink while listening to the Doctor.

"Yes, a Dr."

"Why did you go to a Dr? You're a woman, don't you...you know...have a _sensor _for these kind of things?"

"Yeah, my _sensor _failed!" Responded Martha in a sarcastic way. "I woke up at the hospital and Mickey was there next to me with the Dr. And he told us".

The Doctor remains very serious. There is something in Martha's eyes, like she can't understand what had happened to her.

"Why were you in the hospital?"

"Oh!" Martha takes an extra second to think. "I was in an accident. An explosion..." She shakes her head very quickly and blinks very fast. "Sorry, I meant car accident."

The Doctor looks at Martha. Slowly he reaches for her head, he presses his palms on the sides of her face.

"Which was it? Explosion or car accident?"

"Car accident."

"It would be quite a thing if you couldn't differentiate a car accident from a blast, Martha."

"I got it wrong! Don't know where the word came from, it was a car accident!"

Martha's head is all fog now. She remembered very well, being in a car going down the road and an animal passing right in front of her so fast, that her only instinct was to turn the wheel and by doing so she hit a tree. She remembered perfectly. The fire, the heat, people screaming and a clear voice saying that everything would be just fine. She remembered wearing her white coat, pushing a door a and touching something cold. After that it was just light and heat.

"Martha." The Doctor pushed her off her memories. His eyes were glowing. "That's not what happened."

"What do you mean?"

"You were never in a car accident." The Doctor said. "Someone has stole your memory."

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	7. Chapter 7

******_* I've changed the ending on chapter VI, so it's best if you read that first before reading this one. Hope you enjoy it. *_**

**VII **

**WE'LL GO BACK IN TIME**

**_July 23rd, 2008_**

The brand new Smith-Jones residence was all darkness and so was the street. It was a quiet night, with a cold breeze that shook the trees and blew leafs all over the pavement. There were no stars in the sky and no moon, only dark clouds that foretold heavy rain for the next hours.

Mickey and Martha shared a bed together, as normal a married couple. Even though it was cold, with course of the night, each one had chosen a side to sleep on. Mickey was face down, with his head under his pillow and Martha was by his side, face up with her arm covering her face. The house was surrounded by silence. It was all silence and deep dreams.

It was exactly 03:00 am when the phone rang. Martha jumped out of her deep sleep with the ringing noise echoing in her ear. A normal was afraid of phone calls in the middle of the night, but Martha hated phone calls in such late hour, it always meant bad news. The black phone was right next to her and kept ringing.

It was her idea to have a phone in her room, even though Mickey has discourage the idea from the beginning. Everyone knows that the phone always ring in the wrong time.

Martha reached out a hand, grabbing the vibrating ringing devise while with the other turned on the switch one lamp next to her.

"Hello?"

"_Dr. Jones." _The voice on the other side was clear and in command. It made Martha wake up like she had drunk a coup of the strongest coffee. "_This is the General. Sorry to wake you up, but you are needed at UNIT."_

"I'll be there in 20 minutes, sir." Just like that, there was no room for discussion. If it was urgent, Martha would march up to UNIT like a perfect little soldier.

"_No need for that_." The General said. "_I'm right outside your door."_

Now this changed the scenery completely.

The General hang up the phone and Martha took an extra second to move. The General was outside her house! The General never, _ever,_ goes to someone's house. Especially not at 03:00 am in the morning. This wasn't good. This could not be good.

Martha jumped outta bed, waking up Mickey that rose his head from under the pillow, squinting his eyes to the dim light of the lamp on the night stand.

"Wha…What are you doing?"

"The General." Martha grabbed her robe. "He's outside."

"Outside?" Mickey seats up, scratching his head and yawning. "What is he doing here?"

"I don't know, but it's serious." Martha said. "Just stay here."

"Why?" Martha doesn't answer at first, but doesn't take long for Mickey to figure it out. "You haven't told him yet?"

Mickey asked not pleased. It was true, she hadn't. UNIT wasn't exactly place to find love, so the best way was to keep their romance in secret. Even the engagement. Mickey and Martha were married for months now, but their boss didn't know. Martha wondered what were the odds that the General and all the people at UNIT already knew. After all it was kind of hard to hide that big ring on her finger now.

"Martha…"

"Mickey, it's not the time."

"We're married now and we work in the same place!" Mickey said. "Why are you hiding this? It's kind of impossible, you know? You do have a ring with my name on on your finger." Martha walked out the door, running through the hall and down the stairs. "_Martha!"_

Martha opened the door and there he was, The General himself all suited up. The General was a man that demanded respect and it was impossible to not give it to him. With one look he could destroy you, not figuratively but literally. No one dared to cross him or not obey his orders.

There he was, a tall man with a face and composure that reminded Martha of a bold eagle. His suit was dark green and on the left side, right over his heart, there a line of shiny medals.

Behind the General, was a black Humvee and two soldiers wearing typical UNIT uniform with red hats. They were out in the sidewalk patiently waiting and watching.

Martha saluted and the General saluted back.

Being the man in charge, he did not wait to be invited in, simply passed by and walked into her living room. Martha waved at the soldiers and they acknowledge her, waving back. One of the perks of being the Dr. at UNIT is that Martha knew everyone and everyone knew her. From the soldiers to the high categories.

Martha closed the door and followed the same path to the living room, the General was sitting down on her white couch with his hat on the side. It was some kind of the terrible view, to see a man of that importance on one's living while one wears nothing but a night robe.

"Do you plan on going to UNIT wearing a robe?"

"Oh…right…no, no, sir." Martha walked away from the General, but stopped mid motion. "Excuse me, sir but..where are going?"

"Don't waste time, Martha."

"Right. Do you want something…"

"You have a helicopter to catch in 15 minutes we must be on our way."

"Helicopter?"

The General sighed heavily, while brushing his hat.

"Ireland is our destiny this night, Dr. Jones. It's a matter of great urgency." He glanced over at Martha "Do hurry."

Martha did the best to disguise the sudden news. Ireland at 03:00 in the morning. It had to be important.

"Right…Excuse me, sir."

"Martha…" Martha turned to the General and saw him pointing to the wall. There was a picture of Martha in her wedding dress, kissing Mickey. "Congratulations." Martha bit her lip. " Although, UNIT is not a place for romance and, even though we have more important issues, I cannot help if fate operates in mysterious ways. Mickey is a great lad.

"Thank you sir." Martha said. The General made a quick head movement towards the door and Martha knew she had to go. "Be right…"

"You better hurry up."

Martha rushed up the stairs feet stomping, ran all the way to her bedroom and when she walked in, Mickey was looking outside through the curtains

"Thank you for leaving while I'm talking, Martha."

"You weren't saying anything relevant, Mickey."

Martha goes into the bath room and closes the door behind her.

"Wow, that's actually nice of you. Thank you for that." The door opens and Martha comes out again. Meanwhile, Mickey keeps looking on to the streets. "Hum...had no idea that Roger was back. Insolent idiot. I don't like him! Always looking at you funny!"

Martha comes out of the bathroom without the robe and darts toward the closet.

"Looks at me funny?"

"Yes!" Mickey steps away from the window. "Don't change the subject, I see what you're doing!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Mickey."

"You know what I mean."

"No, actually I don't."

"I've just been wondering what is it with you, women, not saying that you're with me. Rose did that, now you're doing it."

"I'm not, Rose, Mickey. Stop comparing us." Martha found a pair of jeans and white sweatshirt. Mickey had this annoying habit of comparing everything that happened between them, with his relationship with Rose. It made Martha angry, so very angry. "Besides, he already knows."

"Of course he knows, he runs UNIT! I just found weird the fact that you didn't tell him!"

"Mickey, he knows already!" Martha said while stripping off her shorts and top and started to dress her new clothes.

"Doesn't it strike as odd, the fact that you didn't tell our boss that you're married to me?"

"Why are we fighting?" Martha asked confused. After grabbing her leather jacket, comes closer to bed and kisses Mickey on the lips. "I love you. You love me. That is it." Mickey kisses Martha one more time. "I'm going to Ireland. Go back to bed."

"Ireland?!"

"Bye, Mickey!"

"What do you mean, Ireland?"

When Martha gets downstairs, the General was no long in the living room, but the door was opened and Roger, the soldier that according to Mickey looked at Martha funny, was by the door waiting.

"He's very impatient." The soldier said.

"His always like that." Martha left the house and the soldier closed the door behind them. The black Humvee was parked right at front; the soldier opened its doors welcoming Martha in. The General was already there with a black file on his hand, the car doors shuts behind them and seconds later they were on the move. "Why are we going to Ireland, sir?"

The General gave Martha the file.

"About two hours ago we received an emergency call from our UNIT base in Ireland. A meteor fell on a field nearby and the base sent a team of six men to investigate the crashing, but things went wrong and five of the soldiers died." The General didn't even look at Martha while talking, he found looking forward more interesting. "We've already sent a team of scientists to test the meteor and try to figure it out where it came from. Your task is of a different kind, but also helpful."

Martha opened the folder and turned the page finding a picture of a man. He was young, only 26 years old and was wearing a UNIT uniform.

"Who is this?"

"His name is Steven Ross, he's a soldier at UNIT in Ireland, he was the sole survivor. Your task involves him."

"What do I have to do?"

"He's been poisoned. Apparently he touched the meteor and that triggered the explosion in which the others were killed. The infection is spreading all over him; your task is to find out what it is so we can understand what we're dealing with." The General looked at Martha. "Martha, your priority is to find out what this infection is and how we can fight it. That's an order. I will not be accompanying you to the base, I do have urge matters that keep me here. Sargent Donovan will great you and show you to your team. Make sure you do your job well."

"Yes, sir."

The General had given his order and Martha had only to fulfill it. It didn't even pass her mind to ask about the poor soldier, Martha knew best than to start conversation with the General after he had given a final order. The man did not play when it came to duty.

When Martha landed in Ireland, another Humvee was ready to take her to the Irish UNIT base. The trip to the base was short; when they arrived a group of people were waiting for the Humvee at the gates.

"Dr. Jones?" A young lady came to her presence all suited in a dark green military uniform and a red hat and shook Martha's hand. "I'm Sargent follow me." Sargent Donovan lead the way inside the base. She had long blond hair together in one long braid falling down her back. The people around them were moving fast, clearly there was a crisis in hand. "Did the General inform you?"

"Yes."

"Well, whatever he told you it was nothing compared to what we have here."

The Sargent turned left to double glass doors. When she got close the doors whooshed open to a living room.

"This is your team." The Sargent pointed to a team of four, two women and two men, dressed in white coats. "This is Dr. Clara Gyles." A red head woman with blue eyes and a smile, smiled to Martha. "Dr. Simon Omanpour." A man with brown skin and dark hair bowed. "Dr. Suzette Dimaschio." The woman with dark hair, dark eyes and tanned skin also smiled. "And Dr. Michael O'Connell." The last man had dark skin and dark eyes, but did not smile. "Dr. Martha Smith-Jones will be in charge."

Martha was left with her team. Michael got up gave her the file.

"I think it's best if we see the patient.

The team got up and Martha followed them to the patients room. When they got there the patient was surrounded by nurses who checked on him. Dr. O'Connell pressed the button and doubled glass doors whooshed open, the room smelled of antibiotics and beta dine.

The poor soldier was on the bed with his eyes closed, pale face and blue lips. His heartbeat and blood pressure were steady. Steven had a tube down his throat and wires connected to the side of his head, chest and arms.

Martha noticed immediately why she was brought here. It was something she had never seen before. Steven's left arm was the one that got Martha's attention. It took her of balance.

"What happened to his arm?"

The soldier's left hand was black and clenched like a claw. The veins were swollen, thick and black; they looked like dead roots spreading all the way to his shoulder.

"Apparently he touched the meteor, when he did there was an explosion of light. All the others were dead, he was the only one alive." Said Clara. "When he arrived he was normal, but in a matter of minutes it went from normal to this."

"He started screaming, claiming he was on fire. We took a tissue sample, so we can identify but…" Said Simon. "Well, we don't know what it is."

"What do you mean?" Asked Martha looking at the arm.

"We don't know what it's killing his arm, nor how to fight it. The only solution we had was to slow the infection down with antibiotics and steroids. It helped, it did slow down, but just for a couple of hours." Simon moved to the other side of the bed checking the patient. "As soon as we administered the steroids, the body rejected the second dosage, same with the antibiotics. It was like the poison didn't want to get out of the body. Eventually, we came to a conclusion that the best thing was to put him in induced coma, thinking it was the best solution."

"Despite that, it continues spreading. It did slow down, but it's still spreading." Said Suzette. "There's no stopping it, unless we find out what it is exactly."

"Okay…" Martha looked at the soldier's arm. "Well, we'll draw blood and a tissue sample from the area."

"We did that already." Michael gave a short look to the file. "The results are in there. Inconclusive. Whatever is in him, is not recognizable on earth. We're literally flying blind here."

"Well, there's got to be something we can do."

"There's nothing we _can_ do, Dr. Jones." Said Clara.

Martha looked at the poor soldier whose infected arm was a big question mark. This was way out of her league, how in the world could the General think that Martha had the solution for this?

Well, she didn't. She knew a person that might help.

"Do new exams. Repeat them every hour, to see new developments. I'll be right back." Said Martha leaving her new team behind.

"What?" Michael followed Martha out of the room. "There's no point in doing that. The results will be same."

"Just do it!"

"We're wasting time. Every hour tests is a waste!"

Martha stopped and looked at the Dr.

"It's not going to kill him, just do it!"

Dr. Smith Jones was on the look out for a quite place to make a phone call. It was a UNIT base there was cameras everywhere, but she knew there was a place. Despite this UNIT being insane at the moment, with people running around, Martha knew how to become invisible. Nobody noticed her while walking people were just too busy.

The base had long corridors and walls made of glass, that allowed a view from outside. So, Martha did see the Sargent in the laboratory next door with other men wearing white coats.

Martha slowed down, but kept walking trying to look invisible. She was lucky that the party had their backs to the glass walls and were very concentrated in some footage on a monitor or she would get caught and would have to answer some weird questions.

Eventually, Martha found a door, pushed it and entered a small dark room. After a while looking for the light switch, she found it and a light bulb illuminated the room. It was a small archive storage place filled with folders on top of folders, paper and more paper. Martha took out her phone and dialed a number that she already knew by heart. He was the only person who could help her right now.

It wasn't long till she heard a voice coming of the other side.

"_Well, if it isn't the nightingale singing me a midnight song."_ Said Jack Harkness.

Even though Martha could not see his face, she could imagine Jack smiling while recognizing her number.

Jack was the man behind Torchwood. After the Doctor he was the best to work with in situations like this. Every now and then Martha and Jack would cooperate, either in a Torchwood mission or a UNIT one. Even though they're were not supposed to, if caught Martha could find herself in serious problems with the General.

"Hello, Jack."

"_What is this?" _Martha could hear Jack typing away in his keyboard. "_Are you in Ireland?" _He typed again. " _UNIT base in Ireland. What happened?"_

"That's illegal."

_"You're a Dr. not a agent of the law so get off your high horse. What are you doing there?"_

"Meteor."

"_Oh." _Martha heard Jack moving in his chair. "_Didn't hear anything about that."_

"You're not exactly on UNIT's best friends list and they're trying to keep it as quiet as possible."

"_I resent that. I'm a lovely guy!" _Said Jack. Again he typed on his keyboard_. "For you to be calling ,it has to be more than just a simple meteor. I'm more surprised with the fact that it hasn't leaked yet."_

"Like a said, as quiet as possible. UNIT is a pro at keeping secrets. You are right, though it's more than a simple meteor. One of the soldiers touched it, an explosion happened killing five of his group and now his arm decomposing. Literally." ― Jack became silent for a second. Martha waited patiently for an answer. "Any suggestions?"

"_You said that he's arm was decomposing?"_

"Yes, his arm is all black and the poison is slowly moving to his heart. The General wants me to find out what this might be, but I have no idea what I'm looking for. Besides I want to save the man." Jack kept silent. "We tested him, but.."

"_No, no._.." Jack said. Martha hears him walking around in his office in Torchwood headquarters. "_Whatever poisoned him will not show in analysis. If it's not relatively human, it will not __recognize. I have an idea of what it might be, I need to see it."_

"Jack, you can't come here..."

"_I know. I know. It would be just hilarious to see the Sargent's face, though. Can you believe, she was once in love with me?"_

"That smile can melt away butter, Jack."

"_And she knew that! Hell, she knows it. Probably still dreams about me. I have that effect on women..."_

"And men."

"_True."_ Jack sighed heavily. "_Well, what I meant, was that you need to go there and show me the meteor. Get in, get closer, take a picture and sent it to me. I'll have the answer in very short minutes."_

"How am I going to do that? There's people everywhere!"

"_Find a way, Martha. You're a smart cookie!" _Jack sat down again. "_Go, call me when you see it."_

"What? Jack!"

Jack hung up the phone and Martha was left with that beeping sound on her ear.

If she wanted to safe the poor soldier, Martha had to do what was asked of her. No matter the risk.

Martha walked out of the room, but instead of turning left, to go back to her patient room, she goes forward. If she wanted to save this poor soldier, she needed Jack to find out what it could be. So, she kept walking looking both sides, searching for a suspicious door or a heavily guarded hallway.

Martha was close to giving up, when the elevator doors opened and a group of four men came out talking very fast. Martha recognized some of the faces, they were scientist from UNIT headquarters back in London. Martha stopped and pretended to be talking on her phone, while they were passing.

"We need to talk with General. We're at a dead end with that thing." One of them said.

"The truth is, we don't know what it is and it's impossible to crack it." Said the one with dark hair. "The meteor does not respond to any of our tests. It's a waste of time. I have a bad feeling about it." Said the shortest of the group

"Oh c'mon, O'Neil you're scientist you cannot go on instinct." Said another with thick glasses.

"I have a great 6th sense, Jordan."

"You're not a woman!"

They disappeared down the hall, even though they kept walking Martha could still hear their voices for a while. Martha walked to the elevator the moment the doors closed it went down, without Martha touching it's buttons. It was the type of elevator that always stayed on one floor, in this case, it always came back to -3 floor.

Minutes later the elevator stopped, it's doors slide open and Martha found herself in a dark and cold hallway. Martha took a deep breath and walked towards the white double doors. It was complete silence, not even a fly.

Martha reached for the double doors...

"Hold!" Martha freezes right at her tracks. On her left two soldiers had heart at gun point. "Identification."

Martha reached down to her pocket and took out the electronic card that was given to her by the General.

"Dr. Martha Smith-Jones."

Martha gave the card to one of the soldiers. They were both tall, one had blue eyes and blonde hair while the other had brown eyes and brown hair. The blond one took the card and read it very thoroughly. He signs to his partner and he lowers his gun.

"Restricted area, Dr. Smith-Jones." The blonde says. "You can't be here."

"I need to get in." Martha said, trying to appeal to his good side.

"Can't let you do that, Dr." Said the soldier. "Like I said, restricted area. I's a Level 5 clearance, in your card says "collaborator" you can't even be out of your laboratory."

Martha bites her lips. She's so close!

"You heard of the soldier, right? Steven..." The soldiers traded looks. "I need to see this meteor, it might save him."

"Sorry, Dr. We can't. My partner will escort you to the elevator." Said the blond one. The other soldier with brown eyes and brown hair, came close to Martha and grabbed her arm gently.

"Please, I can save him."

"We don't have orders to let you in, Dr." Said the soldier, gently pushing Martha down the hall.

"Five minutes!" She said while being dragged. "I swear, five minutes only! I just need to look at it!"

Martha manages to take away her arm and push the soldier. Immediately the blond pulls out his gun and points at Martha.

"HOLD RIGHT THERE! HANDS ON YOUR HEAD!"

"WAIT!" Martha begged. "I only need five minutes. In and out. It might save Steven, if I don't get in my hands are tight and he will die. I saw the way you looked at each other you know him, don't you?" Neither of the soldiers responded. "Let me in. I swear. Five minutes."

Martha did not expect for it to happened, but it did. The soldier lowers his gun.

"Can you really?"

"Yes."

He looks at his partner. They share a look full of meaning and understanding, that only people who have been together for a while can share.

"Mind the elevator." The blonde one said. The soldier that Martha pushed, runs to the elevator, he opens the door and stays there blocking it with his body. The other soldier grabbed Martha's arm and rushed her to the door. "I can't give you five. You have two minutes. In and out."

The soldier pushed the white doors and Martha was in. The laboratory was disposed in a circular fashion. Monitors, keyboards, computers and other gadgets were surrounding what seemed to be a podium in the middle of the room.

Martha passed by the tables and came closer to the podium. There, was the most unbelievable thing she'd ever seen. When she heard meteor, Martha was expecting a piece of rock from outta space...not _this._

It was a dark ball the size of a volley ball and it was gently floating above the podium. This meteor was dark with thin white lines all over it, but shinny Martha could see her twisted reflection on it. It was like a giant marble.

Martha felt this strange urge while looking at this ball. The ball was beautiful, it was dark and full of mystery. There was something about that darkness that was simply hypnotizing. It was like looking right at the depths of the abyss.

_Touch me..._

It was no more than a whisper. So low it was almost imperceptible.

_Touch me..._

Martha's hand reached to touch the surface.

_I just need a part of you. _

Her fingers grazed the top of the ball. It was cold and it vibrated slightly when Martha's fingertips touched it.

_Oh, you're human. I'm on Earth. _

The whisper was now a loud clear voice inside her head. It was like someone was speaking right into her ear. A spark of panic goes through Martha. This wasn't good. Yet, she cannot let go of the ball.

_The other one wasn't strong enough, but you are. You're strong. _

Then an explosion of pain goes through Martha's arm and she could not let go. It was like her hand was glued to the surface of the meteor. The pain was so sharp, like someone was stabbing Martha's arm over and over again. She held on to the podium, breathing heavily, trying not to faint with all the pain.

Meanwhile, the meteor starts to change it's color. It went from dark, to fiery orange spreading like paint on water. Martha's hand burned even more and that burning sensation went all the way up her left arm, exploding in her chest. The pain was so great, that she falls to her knees, gasping for air.

_So much strength in you. _

The voice was clear and perfect. Strong.

_What else can I see in you?_

The pain spreads from her chest to her head. It was so intense, that she couldn't even keep her eyes open. So much pain that it was hard to breath. It felt like someone was digging through her skull.

_Ah! Memories. I see a man. I see a box, blue one. I see a ring. _

Mickey's smile pierce through her head and Martha screamed so loudly that the soldiers came rushing through the door.

"What's happening?"

The one with brown eyes and brown hair said. Martha was screaming on her knees, sweat running down her forehead and hand glued to the meteor.

"Help me!"

The two soldiers grabbed Martha from behind, trying to lift her, but her hand would not let go of the ball. Another sting of pain was so powerful that Martha could only see white dots of pain and tears came to her eyes.

"Oh my God!" The blonde one got up. "I'll go get help."

The pain wasn't only in her head, it went all over her body now. Martha didn't knew what hurt worse, if her head, her chest, her arm it was all pain. It was fire.

The blond soldier ran away from the laboratory as fast as he could, while Martha kept screaming in pain held by the other soldier.

The ball was inside her mind, opening every door of memory, going to every single event in Martha's life and it was painful.

_Martha Jones..._

The voice was clear and sharp.

_You're lucky. Very much so. I sense life within you. _

The pain in her head grew out of proportion. Martha screamed her lungs out.

_I will not kill you, child. No. But you won't remember me either. You will never remember this day. You will only remember the pain when you see me again. _

Just like that an explosion of light comes from the meteor, blinding Martha and the soldier. A buzzing sound comes to their ears, so loud and intense that it takes them off place. The light was white, worm and powerful. Even though it was nothing but light, shook like it was an earthquake.

Martha feels overwhelmed by the light, the fire and the pain. From that moment on, ti was all black and there was no more pain.

_TO BE CONTINUED..._

**_NEXT: Forgiving and forgetting does not apply here. _**


	8. Chapter 8

_*I don't think this was one of my best chapters, but I promise the rest will be better.*_

**VIII**

**NOT HELPING, BUT STALLING.**

The Doctor is staring at the never ending rain. After the Daleks burnt down this planet to the ground, the atmosphere is now cleaning itself from the toxic smoke. This is the beauty about Caleb 23, it had a mind of its own and it repaired itself whenever needed. This rain would last for hours. The clouds were so full, that Caleb 23 wouldn't see it's sun, Alexis, for days. After that everything would come back to normal, maybe the Doctor could show Martha the beautiful green sky and the deep purple seas.

That is, if Martha could remember exactly what had happened to her. Right now the Doctor faced himself with a problem bigger than he ever thought. The meteor hid himself inside Martha's head. It is there, among other memories of Martha's first year at UNIT, but not as an original. If Martha ever tries to remember what happened that day, she would remember being in a car accident instead of an explosion so massive that killed the two soldiers that were with her, injured many others and barely destroyed the UNIT base in Ireland. If she tried to remember what really happened, who knows what could happen to her?

For the past fifteen minutes they had been arguing about the fact that there was indeed a meteor. Martha didn't remember and did not believe the Doctor no matter how many facts he brought up. The meteor was well hidden. Now he was in silence, just starring at the rain.

The question was: why?

Why would a meteor hide himself from Martha Jones's memory? Did it know that the Queen would be looking for it as source of power? Or maybe it just didn't want to be noticed by any other alien, could that be it? So many questions. So many fireworks in the Doctor's mind.

The Doctor takes a looks at his golden wrist watch, time flies by on Caleb 23.

"Are you going to stare at the rain forever?"

"Forever is a long time, Martha."

"You know what I mean…"

"Yes, I do."

What is going on here? The Doctor looked into Martha's mind, when he touches her head. The happening is there, he saw it. The General knocking at her door, the trip to Ireland, the soldier Steven with his arm decomposing away and the meteor. The meteor that had the shape of a giant marble. Black and attractive. An hypnotic abyss.

But, Martha could not remember it. Instead, over that memory was a fake one. A memory that showed Martha driving on a dark road when an animal rushed in front of the car and Martha running straight into a tree.

The real memory was under the fake one. But why? Why would a meteor hide itself inside Martha's head?

There was a knock on the door and one of the soldiers showed up.

"You are needed downstairs" He says to the Doctor.

The Doctor looks at Martha then looks at the soldier again.

"Can't right now. Busy."

"You have too." He said. "We have a visitor."

The Doctor didn't say anything at first, but then he looks at the soldier with a puzzled look.

"How can there be visitors?"

"Come downstairs and find out."

The soldier walks back to the lift, leaving the door open and a curiosity feeling lingering on the Doctor. A few seconds later the Doctor steps away from the window and walks toward the door.

"I'm going for a walk. Stay here."

"I heard the soldier, there are visitors."

"Yes. I'm going. Stay here"

"Here?"

"Yes!" He stops points at Martha, then at the window. He did that a lot, walking and pointing and his eyes flying all over the place. "Look at the rain, take a nap, maybe Elga can bring you some tea…Maybe play mind games…" The Doctor smiles. "Ever played mind games alone?"

"Who's the visitor?"

"Stay here, Martha."

The Doctor opens the door and before it closes Martha can still hear him scream.

Martha lays down in bed. The rain keeps falling outside like rocks and it was still pitch dark. This dark weather is very depressing and after the discussion with the Doctor, Martha doubted herself. What if it was true? What if there was indeed a meteor crash, but Martha couldn't remember? Why couldn't she remember? Why was she here?

No! That was impossible. How can one forget a meteor? It's a meteor, it would be shocking enough to remember.

Martha looks at the open window, outside was still darkness, but there was something familiar and strange about this darkness. Martha locks her gaze at the darkness and keeps looking, feeling a strange calling. It was like an abyss that hypnotizes you into doing whatever it wants. An never ending darkness. So dark. So scary, but hot. Like fire.

The door opens abruptly and Martha sits back, feeling a light pounding on her head. She must have fallen asleep without noticing it. Martha looks at the door, expecting to see the Doctor, but instead she finds…

"Constantine."

The driver walks into the room, with his red hair is burning like fire and his eyes so alive they could pierce through flesh and book and wink at Martha's soul.

"The Doctor wanted me to check on you. " Said Constantine. His hands were behind his back, feet apart and correct posture. "Where you sleeping?"

" I think so, yes."

"It's normal for you, humans, you're so sensitive to time changes that anything weakens you. It's kind of sad, really." Martha snores, but does not answer. Instead she looks at the window again. The rain kept falling, like it did and like it would for a long time. "I know it's a bit depressing, but it will be over soon."

"I live in London, I'm used to bad weather. Just not _this_ bad. Where's the Doctor?" Constantine does not answer, instead his staring and judging every inch of Martha's face. "You're staring."

"I've never seen a skin color like yours."

Martha raises and eyebrow, but Constantine keeps looking at her like it was nothing. He was very curious.

"I've never seen hair like yours." Martha said without a smile "There, we're even. Where's the Doctor?"

"Have I offend you?"

"You're not keeping score?" Constantine doesn't even blink, he just stands there looking "normal". "You keep saying_ human_ as if it was a bad thing and now you're talking about my skin color. If this is your "not offending" I would love to see you being nice."

"I never said it was bad. It's indeed fascinating."

"Much better." Martha says ironically. "You are so nice."

"I'm a soldier. I can't be nice."

"Or what? You'll catch a virus?" Constantine opens his mouth to speak, but Martha stops him. "Why are you here? Where's the Doctor?"

"You know, you sound just like and infant, always asking for the same toy. Don't you get tired of your voice?"

"Don't you get tired of you attitude?"

"No."

"Ah! It figures."

Martha and Constantine stare down at one another fiercely. Martha walks towards the window, reaches out to touch the rain…

"Don't!" Constantine is fast. He runs to Martha grabbing her hand, before the rain would touch her dark skin. "It's hot. Look." Constantine reaches out for the rain, when it touches his hand it sizzles, like water falling into a frying pan. "The atmosphere it's cleaning itself. Stage 3: Acid rain."

Martha lets out a gasp, but not because of the phenomenon – even though, it was very surprising – because Constantine's hand was all metal.

Martha grabs his hand. Where once was fair skin, was now only the perfect imitation on human bones, but in metal. Shiny, beautiful and cold metal.

"You're a robot?"

"Cyborg, actually." Said Constantine. "As you can see, I look human."

"May I…?"

"Sure." Martha thoroughly observes Constantine's hand, making sure it had every single bone. And it did. It was just like a human hand, instead it was made of metal. "This is…amazing."

"I guess."

"Why can't you touch each other?"

"Well, we can we just choose not too. We're cyborgs. Machines. We're not made to have feelings."

"That's...a bit..."

"Robotic."

"Exaggerated, maybe?"

Constantine exhibited a soft smile.

"Never saw a cyborg in your life?"

Martha is now observing his wrist, touching every inch of skin. Martha is so concentrated, that doesn't even listen to what Constantine. While Martha is observing his arm, Constantine looks at her. She looks so concentrated, like it was something out of her world- and it was. Martha senses she's being watched, looks at Constantine and then drops the hand.

Both of them return to their former positions.

"What are you doing here?"

"The Doctor sent me here. He said that you might have questions. Didn't I tell you this when I first arrived?"

"Yes, but I want the Doctor and I'm still waiting for him to answer my questions."

"He sent me here for that reason."

"Did he point a gun at your or something?"

"No." Constantine said. "I have a will, you know. I came here, because I wanted too, not because he pointed a gun at me. Now, do you have questions or not?"

"Yes. If I ask them, will you be nicer or that's too much to ask, because you know, I'm human. A female one and I have a weird skin colour!"

"I said fascinating."

Constantine looks straight into Martha's eyes. She felt like a cold wind was rushing though her. Constantine looks around the room looking for a chair, he fins one and doubles back to it. Martha takes her place in the bed looking crossing her legs. Constantine took the chair and placed it in front of Martha.

"So, you're…You're a cyborg?"

"Have we started with the questions yet?" Martha confirms and Constantine takes a deep breath. "Yes, I am. Caleb 23 is a cyborg planet. Oh! I guess I should started from the beginning…Caleb 23 and Angiolnyght have a treaty for centuries. I don't know if you heard about Angiolnyght, they're not exactly a fighting planet. They are very attached to honor, moral, ethics, crowns and Kings. We're like the army."

"All of you?" Martha asks. "Even the people in the dungeons?"

"Yes, either they will grow up to tbe soldiers or they were once. The truth is, Caleb 23 is an army planet we have guns, bombs, lasers...You name it, we have it. We're an army planet. We're all cyborgs and we all serve Angiolnyght." Constantine says this with a harsh tone in his voice. Martha raises an eyebrow. "Not all of us agree, but it is what it is."

"You don't like the treaty?" Constantine looks at Martha, scratching his head. He didn't look like a cyborg, in fact, he looked more human that most humans. Yet, he did not answer. "Okay, what can you tell me about the new Queen. What's her story?"

Constantine sighed heavily, he looks at his wrist watch and then Martha get it. The Doctor wasn't here, that meant that something else was going on.

Constantine takes a quick glance at his wrist watch and Martha's very sharp skills began to operate. That moment, the driver's walkie talkie makes a high pitch noise and Constantine rushes to turn it off. Martha looks at Constantine, and pieces fall in to place; he wasn't here to answer Martha's question, he was stalling. The Doctor would never, _ever_, let her sleep in a bed room upstairs when all of this was going on. Constantine was keeping her here.

"Martha…"

Martha's heart was beating very fast now. Only one word could come to mind and that was: James. Constantine looks at Martha, but before he could even say anything Martha walks out of the room running. Constantine follows grabbing is walkie talkie. ― This is Constantine, the asset is out of the room. I repeat, the asset has left the room.

He found her in the hall waiting for the elevator with her arms crossed and nervous pacing.

"Where is he?" Constantine says nothing at first, he just looks at Martha. The elevator arrives, Constantine rushes to open the double doors.

"You're very nervous."

"Tell me, where he is!"

"The biggest tent you can find."

Constantine and Martha walk into the elevator and the driver presses the button down. The doors open and they are in the tent area, right underneath the bridge that Martha crossed a few moments before. The soldiers didn't even look at the couple, they just kept walking and running, some cleaning guns others putting them together.

Constantine goes ahead leading the way and Martha follows. None of the soldiers look at her, they are mainly young men and don't seem to notice Martha's and Constantine's presence among them. Then Martha gets it, they are indeed cyborg soldiers, they are not humans and maybe don't even understand feelings. They were ready to fight at any time.

Martha sees the tent over Constantine's shoulder. It was the biggest one, all dark green and with two other guards in front. Constantine doesn't say a word, he just walks in and Martha follows.

The first thing she see is a man sitting on a chair with a bag of ice on his head. He has long dark hair and dark eyes. This man is young, but right now he looks old, maybe it was the lights they were very dim and made shadows all around the tent.

"Martha!" The Doctor jumps out of nowhere, grabbing Martha's shoulders and forcing her to face him. "How are you? Are you okay? Did you sleep? Did you play games?"

Martha shakes off the Doctor's hands and walks away from him. In the middle of the tent there was a long table hidden under a map. The Colonel was at the head of the table with two other men, they were looking at the map very seriously. Behind them was a big screen and a video was on rewind.

"What's going on? Why was Terminator keeping me in the room?" Asks Martha annoyed.

"Oh, you call that nice?" Asks Constantine taking in place at the table. Martha ignores him, for his own sake.

"What's going on?" Asks Martha to the Doctor. "Do you think we are done? Remember what I said about honesty hour?"

"Martha, I need you to remain calm…"

"Calm?"

"Trust me, everything is going to be…"

"I don't trust you!" Martha said plainly. The tent fell back into silence. "Not this new you, at least. The Doctor I knew would never keep me in a bedroom, hidden and send a cyborg to keep me there. I don't trust you, _Eleventh._ I want answers and I want them now."

"You will have them!" Guarantees the Doctor. "But, I need you to remain calm, now. We knew this would happen, it's all under control."

"What is?"

"Remain calm."

Martha hears a laugh. A woman is laughing. She turns around, ready to slap the person who is laughing at a such important issue and what she sees takes her breath away.

In the television a woman in a white long dress and a shiny crown on her head, has James on her lap and Tish on her left side.

The woman looks at the camera and smiles even more.

"_Hello, Doctor. May I congratulate on your move. That was very good and I admit I had no idea of Martha's value. Very good indeed. I know she's with you and if she's not, please, do call her because this does concern her." _Tish on the Queens side was smiling, but her eyes were blank, like she wasn't really there and James just looked at the camera without smiling, like he was numb. "_That was a wonderful move, Doctor. Stealing my valuable asset from me, leaving me without way to find the meteor_. _Yet, your upper hand will live shortly for I have the leverage now. Have you seen this wonderful pearls I have with me?"_

The Queen touched James hair and Tish smiled. "_I found Tish and James hiding in a closet and I invited them to come with me. Such lovely jewels Martha has." _The Queen kisses James on his temple. After that her soft smile disappears and she has a cold gaze. "_I've always wanted a son…"_

"_This is very simple: I want Martha Jones, you and the meteor in my throne room in the next hour or I will hurt these lovely jewels. Can you imagine? Martha's admiration turning into anger, after losing her sister and her son in the same night. Oh, she would never forgive you, Doctor. _

_I must warn you that this is not bluff, this is not an empty threat. I'll give you an hour to bring me the meteor, after that every five minutes these pearls will receive a new scratch. You can imagine what I mean, right?"_

The video ends there. Martha's heart sinks to the bottom of the planet and remains still.

"We will get them back, Martha. We will." The Doctor guaranteed. "I know, I'm not your Doctor, but you can trust me…You know that…I'm still the same, just a different face."

Martha looks at the Doctor, her eyes humid like tears would drop at any time. There was that familiar glow that made everything okay and that assured her that his was her Doctor, even though, his face was so different.

"She has James."

"I know, I'll get him. I promise." The Doctor grabs Martha's hand and squeezes two times. "Our honesty hour isn't over. We have Gorka, now. He'll explain everything. He's the head of the Resistance, he was the one that told me that the Queen was going to make the cards game and he unlocked the TARDIS. He will tell you everything, Martha."

"Who is Gorka?" Asks Martha trying to see the bright side.

The man sitting on the chair raises his hand.

"I am." He throws the ice bag away. "You want answers, well take a chair, Martha. I'm going to tell you a story."

_TO BE CONTINUED_

**NEXT - The Queen and her new son**


	9. Chapter 9

_*I tried to make this James POV. I've rewritten part of episode V make sure you check it out, before reading this. *_

**IX **

**THE QUEEN'S SON**

James and Tish kept their eyes locked on the place where the TARDIS once stood. It was nothing there now, but were still swaying after blue box disappearance.

"I'm never getting used to this." Said Tish trying to wrap her head around the fact that a blue police box just dematerialized on front of her eyes.

James, on the other hand, was stunned. Yes, his father told him about the Doctor and the TARDIS, but one thing were stories and another were true facts. The fact that a box just vanished in front of his eyes, was just unbelievable.

"Do you think mum will let me go for a ride?" He asked with glowing eyes and a smile.

Oh! The thrill it would be to fly to any place or any time. Just push a button and go from noisy London, to beautiful Venice or even touch the ground of a different planet, in another galaxy. Go back, go forth, cross dimensions…That was a dream! Mickey once told him, that he had lived in a parallel world for a while and that just blew James's mind.

Tish snorted and gave a funny glimpse at the young child. He was such a dreamer and adventurer, always dreamt of going further, flying higher or running faster. He was the best of Martha and Mickey.

"If it's a sunny day, your mother is in a good mood and you've been in your best behavior for at least six months, you might get lucky."

James made a face. He had this face, when the odds were not in his favor. It was a mixture of a frown and a sad face. Very characteristic. One would think he would give up after that answer, after all, James didn't knew what "being in his best behavior" meant. Better yet, he knew, it just didn't sue him to do so.

"You can put a good word for me, aunt Tish."

Tish bends over so she can look straight into James's green and vivid eyes. Tish was out of work for a while now, well…she wasn't exactly looking for a job. So, she spent her days with James.

"Remember what happened last time I put a good word for you, James?"

James said nothing. He knew perfectly what happened and he felt bad about till this day.

A long time ago, before James could stand on his own, Mickey gave the boy a ball, so he could practice some kicks and tricks in the backyard. When Mickey was alive, James never had that much interest in the ball. He would kick it here and there with his father, but nothing more.

When Mickey died, a few days after the funeral, James found the ball in the backyard waiting to be used. So he did. Every day James would kick that ball and try to copy all the tricks he saw in football matches. Eventually, he became good at it and Martha put him in his school football team. James was a master and became his team's top player.

Even though they had a backyard, there was one thing that James always did and that his mother always said, no…_yelled _at him not to do, and that was to play ball in the house. Martha warned him more than one time, but James only went by one rule and one rule only: "When mum isn't around there aren't any rules." His father taught him that and he would never let it go.

One day, when mum wasn't around and aunt Tish had gone to the store to buy some snacks, James got the ball. He was in the hall, like he always was, kicking that white ball with green stripes. James had seen this awesome move by this one Italian player and he wanted to see if it could master, so it could be used in his next game. As always he started kicking the ball with his right foot, one, two, three, four kicks and so on…Without noticing it, James was already in his living room and he knew he shouldn't be there, one wrong kick and something could break.

It could and it would.

In a moment of pure bliss – that James could not, for his life, understand what it was or where it came from – he made the trick. It was simple. Just passing the ball with his right foot under the left leg, with a little jump lift the ball up and kick. The kick part wasn't supposed to be done, but James had a moment of bliss and he could actually see himself in the pitch.

So, he passed the ball under his left leg, lifting it up with his foot and then kicked it. He didn't kick hard, he truly didn't…but, the ball hit a chair, then it bounced and it hit the picture of his mum kissing his dad on their weeding day. The moment the ball hit the picture on the wall, it fell towards the ground and so did James's heart.

At the same time the picture shattered into million pieces on the floor, the front door opened. There was a moment of silence, that seemed like centuries for poor James. When he looked at the door, first he saw Tish that looked back at him with an "you're screwed, kid" look, then Martha shows up next to her sister, takes a look at the broken picture then looks at her son.

"Mum, I'm sorry…"

"You're grounded, James."

"Mum…"

"Go to your room."

Martha went back to the kitchen, so she could organize the groceries that Tish had brought with her. James, being the smart cookie he was, he should have known that he got out easy. Mum did not scream, yell, or anything worse, she just grounded him. Probably would give him the silent treatment for a while, but that the best of the worse scenario. Grounding James was the only solution, he may look like a kid, but his mind is far from it.

But instead, James begged aunt Tish to put in a good word for him. It was an accident! He didn't mean to break the picture. It was truly an accident!

So Tish did put a good word for him, but Martha was in a terrible mood and it all ended up in a fight between the two. Tish stormed out of the house, Martha never spoke of it again and James was grounded for the rest of the month. The sisters only talked again on James's birthday, three months later. So, James just kept silent when Tish asked him if he remembered what had happened last time he asked for a favor.

The phone rang, so Tish rushed to answer it, while James remained in the living room. The little boy was ready to sit down and watch some TV – even though the sun would rise in a few hours and probably, there was nothing good on at this hour – when something outside called out his attention. There was something wrong the leafs.

James always like the sight of leafs falling, it always remind him of his father. Every now and then Mickey would pick up James from school and take him to eat ice cream at the park. They would sit down on an old beach while James would say everything he did that day and Mickey would listen. What James reminded very vividly where leafs falling while he was talking and his father was smiling at him; it made a pretty picture with a golden frame.

Now these leafs weren't a good memory. They were a warning. James comes closer to the window and he felt nervous. These leafs were falling like rain and they usually don't. One may see maybe two or three flying around together or rolling on the ground, but these were falling. It was like, they had all come to a conclusion that it was time to fall and do it all together. Every single tree in the street was slowing becoming naked, showing their twisted, scary branches and just like that the sidewalk and the road were covered in a dark green and golden carpet.

"Aunt Tish..." James called, but aunt Tish couldn't talk at the time.

James's grandmother, Francine, was on the other side of the line and Tish was doing her best to calm her mother's nerves. It wasn't an easy task.

James walks up to the window, opening it, but feels no wind whatsoever; instead he feels a strange energy in the air. He can't see it, but he can feel it. It's like that split second before someone jumps to the abyss.

Then the lights in the street begin to fail. It begins with the street lamp down the street, which flickers intensively. It was like someone was playing with the off switch. Then it stropped and the street lamp went dark. It could be just a power failure, but James knew better.

Then the lights in the house next to the street lamp flicker. Seconds later, the house has no light.

"Aunt Tish!"

"James, give me 2 minutes!" Tish begs. "Yes, mum James is here, I'm with him. No, she didn't. Why would she take him? He's five, mum!"

Meanwhile, the street lamps and the houses down the street, become as dark as black. Five seconds later the two next fade away as well. Slowly, every single street lamp goes off and the only thing visible at night light is the shape of the houses. Another, then another and then another, like a countdown to something dangerous.

The last street lamp is right across the street and it's the only one lite up. James's heart beats strong and fearful. He was right to be afraid. The street lamp flickers…

"AUNT TISH!"

"What?!" The lights go out and darkness settles in. No sound. No light. No nothing. Pure darkness. It was such a heavy silence that James could hear the blood flying in his veins and hear himself breathing. "JAMES!"

"Yes?!"

"Stay exactly where you are!" It wasn't long until aunt Tish wrapped her arms around his shoulder and kissed his air. "It's okay. Everything will be okay."

"I'm not afraid of the dark."

"I am." Said Tish breathing heavily, trying to call herself. "If you were ever trapped like I was, you'd be too."

Aunt Tish and grandma never talk about that year, even though it was all over the books. It was they thought it would always be a story. James grabbed his aunt's hand trying to call her down, when something takes his attention. Through the curtains he saw this small point of blue light, which reminded him of a little star up in the sky.

The small dot of light, tore itself in half and became a crack of light. The crack tore apart time and space and became a whole of electric blue light that illuminated the street.

From the time whole came out four men all wearing black clothes and black masks, they had their guns pointed and held them firmly. The soldiers adopted a combat position, two of them kneeling down in front and the other two on each side, securing a perimeter. The one in charge, had a yellow bandana around his left arm, said a few words into his hand and then four more came out taking position a few steps ahead and securing the perimeter.

Then a shape started to take form and a woman came out of the whole. She wore a long white dress, with big shoulder pads and a shiny crown on her head. Her lips were painted blood red, her grey eyes were highlighted by a black eyeliner and her long blond – almost white – hair was falling down her shoulders.

Behind them the electric blue whole disappeared and the lights in the street came back again, like nothing had happened. Except, their house was still emerged in darkness. The woman that came out of the time whole, pointed at the house and her lips moved.

"We should hide, now." Said James. The two ran out of the living room. James darted up the stairs, but Tish went for the door. James gets to the top, but stops when realizing he was the only one going up. "What are you doing?"

"Locking the door."

"Aunt Tish, they have guns! A simple lock won't stop them."

Tish looks at her nephew and smiles. James was a smart child, he was, but sometimes he could a bit clueless.

"Oh James, you clearly don't know your parents."

By the door there was a small black panel. James never knew what it was and every time he asked one of his parents they all said the same: "it's just a panel don't worry about it".

Now he was about to see what it truly was. Aunt Tish touches the top of the panel and it comes to life. It was a touch with ten buttons from 0-9 and a small screen. Tish then introduced the four numbers, the panel went green and shut down. Immediately around the house there's the sound of doors locking, but not an ordinary lock, it was like…

"What is that?" Asks James curious.

"Magnetized lock. It will take them a while to open any door or window in this house." Said Tish. "Mickey installed it the day he found out your mother was pregnant and activated the day you were born. And because your parents are very paranoid - with good reason…" Tish kneels down by the door, pushes the carpet to the side and there was the small layout of a door. "They made an escape in case of emergency."

James came down the stairs and stared at the trap door.

"How long that's been there?"

"Since you were born. Haven't you ever wondered why was this the only place in the house where the floor screeched?" Tish pushed the handle up and opens the trap door. As to confirm they're urgency in running away, a sudden knock on the front door is heard on the other side. "Go. Get in!"

Another knock on the door, this time a lot heavier. A male voice screamed on the other side.

"_It's locked, ma'am. Not a normal lock, it's the magnetic type."_

It took a while for an answer to have voice. A very silky feminine voice. As soft like a summer breeze.

"_Magnetic it's no impenetrable. Blow it up."_

"_Yes, ma'am." _Tish looked at James with desperate eyes. Now the knocks were coming from all directions. Backdoor, front door and windows, they were planting explosives on each entry. James looked at the whole in the ground, completely dark, feeling suddenly a spike of indecision and, perhaps, fear.

The knocks stop, everything went silent, then the male voice raises again

"_Explosives in place, ma'am."_ Tish wouldn't wait a second more and pushed James down the whole, jumping after and closing the door over her head. Before the trap door closes, Tish heard the man say: "_Fire in the whole."_

The moment the door closed over their head, there was a loud sound that shook the entire house. If no one heard that loud noise, then the entire block had to be deaf or dead.

James and Tish were hiding in the whole in complete silence, while the dust around the settled down. The door blows open and all they can hear is the never ending rhythm of stomping feat. Men marched inside the house, the footsteps echoed above them making them sound as infinite.

They covered every inch of the house and quickly the sound of things falling down hard, glass breaking and doors opening was all it could be heard. It sounded like they were tearing the house apart from its foundations. The search did not last long, after a while screams echoed all over the house, they all said the same thing: _Clear. _

Then it was nothing, but calm and slow steps coming into the house.

_"They're not far."_ Said a feminine voice. "_Search under every rock. I will not leave without them."_

James and Tish were hiding in the whole in complete silence, right under her feet. While the men marched through the house, with heavy feet, knocking everything down and looking everywhere, Tish and James kept silent. They didn't even dare to breath, with fear that the soldiers would hear their gasp.

Tish looks around in the dark, Martha told her once that everything she could need to escape in case of danger was right there. So, it would make sense to assume that nearby would be a flashlight. Tish assumed correctly. When she moved her head, Tish hit something metallic, when grabbing it she recognized the shape, size and feeling of a metallic flashlight. She grabbed it, but did not lit it up.

" Let's go."

Tish leads the way. According to Martha, this whole had a pathway underground that let out of their property. Straight forward, not getting it wrong. The path had a low ceiling; it was dark, humid and cold.

Above their heads were the pipelines from the house. Mickey had built the shelter underground first, and then proceeded to extend it creating a pathway. It was a way to keep their family safe in case of crisis, after all he was in UNIT and he knew the dangerous that surrounded the planet.

Now Tish and James were practically crawling for safety as fast as they could.

"Where does this end?" Whispered James.

"Two houses down." Answered Tish.

The passage wasn't long, but it felt like they were crossing the desert. Once Tish was certain they weren't under the house, she lit the flashlight illuminating the way. The rest of the way, was muddy and even more claustrophobic.

Eventually, the path way came to a stop. Tish pointed the flashlight up, showing that the ceiling above their head was different; no pipes, just a wood trap door. Tish pushed the doors up, got out of the whole and pulled James next. This house was completely empty, without any small object to serve as decoration or even an indication that anyone lived there. This house was smaller, with no second floor and it felt old.

Tish closed the door quietly, then ran towards the front door locking it. James took a quick glance through the curtains and realized that he was indeed, only two houses away. He could see the shadows moving inside his house, they were still looking for him and his aunt.

"I think we'll be okay." Said Tish. "Now, look for a phone…"

"How could there be a phone? There's no one here."

"Martha said there was a phone here." Tish guaranteed. "Just look for one, okay? We have to call UNIT."

James and Tish were looking for a phone, but couldn't find any. After all there wasn't any furniture, so if there was indeed a phone, it would be visible.

"Aunt Tish… "James started, but did not finish. Someone was knocking hard on the backdoor. Their hearts started to pound hard against their chests and not a single breath was taken. Another knock on the door. "I thought this was abandoned."

Another heavy knock and now someone was trying to force the lock.

"It is. No one ever lived here." The door opens and all they can see is the outline of a man. "Get behind me."

James gets behind his aunt, while the steps of the shadow man come closer. It's a man, a tall man, very strong with broad shoulders. His steps were heavy, he was a powerful man. He stops a few steps away from Tish, takes something from his pocket and points and this.

A while light blinded them for seconds, when Tish and James met the light of the flashlight.

"Well, that was a lucky shot…" He said. This man had a rough, but soft voice. Even though it was dark, Tish could still hear a tone of amusement when he spoke. "No, you were _lucky_."

The man turned the light to his face. Besides the fact that he looked freakishly pale, he had dark eyes and black hair. Tish thought, he was indeed a very interesting man. The thing that got James's attention was the yellow bandana around the man's arm, he was the one in charge of the soldiers…

"Well, I still call it lucky."

"Who are you?" Asked Tish. The man cocked his head, showed a small smile and sighed.

"You were right, they do ask a lot of questions."

"Who are you talking to? I demand an answer. " Tish ordered. The man takes something of his ear and hands it to Tish. It was a listening device. Tish puts it in her ear…"Hello?"

"_TISH!" _The Doctor's voice rang in her ear, so loudly that Tish went deaf for a second.

" I'm here, there's no need to scream!"

"_Oh. Sorry. There's a lot going on now, I can't control my excitement. Glad to hear you're okay. How's James?"_

"He's fine." Said Tish. "How did you know where to find us?"

"_When I went back, I x-rayed Martha's house. I saw the pathway underneath, so I figured it out. Martha was very smart to make that escape route."_

"It was Mickey's idea, actually. Why would you x- ray the house? Since when does a police box have an x-ray machine?"

"_Blyme, Tish. You're being hunted and the only thing you can do is ask me questions? Do you want to live?"_

"Yes!"

"_Then stop with the questions. Seriously, what is it with the Jones family and questions?" _The Doctor sighed heavily. "_Put James on the phone, he's part Mickey so probably won't ask as many questions as your or if he does, they will be interesting."_

Tish passed the listening device to James.

"Doctor?"

"J_ames! Is so good to hear from you! Did you enjoy my TARDIS?"_

"Yes. I want to fly with you."

The Doctor laughs on the other side.

_"One day, perhaps, if your mother is in a good mood. Now, see that man in front of you?" _James looks at the man with the yellow bandana and he smiles again. "_His name is Gorka. He's with me, he's one of the good guys. Gorka can get you out of there, you have to listen to him and go very fast. Do you think you can do it?"_

"Yes." Guaranteed James. "I trust you."

"_Wise boy. Put Gorka on the intercom again, please."_

"Doctor…Where's mum?"

_"She's sleeping." _The Doctor said in a calm and soft voice. "_Humans have to recharge every now and then, but she's fine, James. Don't worry, I'll take care of her for you." _ James smiled and handed the listening device to Gorka. He listened in silence, then clicked the device turning the blue light off.

"Alright, we have to move and do it fast." Tish was about to ask a questions, but Gorka stopped her. "Questions are a waste of time. You'll see when we get there. The Queen is furious, she was tricked and she wants the upper hand, the faster we get out of here, the better." Gorka turned around, but froze instantly.. "When I came in…Did I close the door behind me?"

Actually, James noticed it too, but said nothing until now.

"No." James said. "You didn't."

In a split second the front door busted open with two man coming in, from the sides the windows imploded when other two jumped through. In a matter of seconds the three were surrounded by armed man.

Without any words, one grabbed James and put him over his shoulder taking him outside the house. Tish was dragged outside of the house, but she fought hard and was carried on shoulders. Gorka left on his own, even though he was traitor, the men weren't allowed to touch him.

They were walking back to the house, when they got their living room she Queen was sitting on the white sofa and going through the wedding album. The new Queen raised her grey eyes at them, then sat back. Her grown had a shine of it's own and her dressed melted with the white of the sofa.

"I'll get to you in a second." She said with a mellow voice at Tish and James. Then it changed, when speaking to Gorka. "You traitor. How could you? After everything I've done for you…"

"You didn't do…"

"SILENCE!" She ordered. "You betrayed me. You helped him. You knew since the start that Martha Jones was exactly whom I needed to find the meteor. Yet, you gave her to the Doctor. How could you? You're my commander, you lead my soldiers..."

"I would do it again."

"I should kill you! I should have your head as feet support and use your skin as coat! It would be a pretty clear message to the Doctor..." She said. The Queen inhaled, then changed her tone. "but because I have eyes and ears everywhere, and I just happen to know where he is…I will send you, with two gifts." She offered a smile, but Gorka's blood froze.

"You know what it is, don't you?" Said the Queen. Gorka's face went pale, but he did not move. He was a soldier, would not break easily. Altough, the thought of punishment made his pulse race. "Take him."

The soldiers came one step closer, but none of them dared to touch Gorka.

"They can't touch me, I'm still they're commander."

"You are off duty. I now pronounce you a traitor to the crown and Angiolnyght. Your punishment will be Insertion." Gorka's eyes grew big in shock. The soldiers grabbed Gorka firmly, not allowing any maneuver. "Prepare him."

Gorka was pulled out of the room, but he stomped his feet.

"Don't." He begged. "Please, don't. Not this way."

"Why is he still talking?" The Queen asked in a cold voice.

"Alyanna!" Gorka screamed.

The Queen raised to her feet. Her face was red with rage and she was furious.

"You do not call me by my name, you traitor! Take him of my sight! NOW!"

One of the guards hit Gorka in the head and his body tumbled to the floor. Then Gorka's body was dragged out of the Queen's presence. The Queen took a few seconds to calm herself down, but did not sit. The Queen smoothed her white dress and, as if nothing had happened, the Queen's eyes were on Tish analyzing every inch of her face.

"Well aren't you beautiful a pearl?" She said with a smile. "You are Tish, aren't you?"

"Yes." Tish said. The Queen smiled and Tish did the same back sighing heavily. James looked at her aunt, it was like she was in love. She was completely mesmerized. James, however, felt nothing. "You're beautiful."

The Queen showed a soft smile.

"You are the only pearl here, Tish." The Queen comes closer and grabbing Tish's hands. "I will take you with me and take care of you, just like a princess. You'll have a court, dresses, food, servants everything…" The Queen's voice wasn't more than a sweet whisper. "The only thing you have to do, is to join me."

"No!" Said James.

The Queens eyes landed on him, like she hadn't seen him before. She came closer, so close that James could smell her sweet perfume and almost dive in her grey eyes.

"You must be James." She said. "Well, aren't you…"

"I'm not a pearl." Said James bravely. "We're not going with you."

"James!" Censured Tish. "She's a Queen, you have to go."

"It's okay, dear." The Queen showed a soft smile, but her eyes were evil. "James, sweetie, you will come, if you want to see your mummy again."

"You don't know where she is."

"How would you know?" The Queen taunted him. "I have eyes, ears and feet all over the place. I know everything. I know that the Doctor came here, took your mother and away the flew to Caleb 23. That TARDIS of him leaves an awful trace Little do they know, that their visit won't last long..." Said the Queen with a evil whisper, but a soft smile. "Things can happen you know? I will do my best to make sure, they're not harmed, but...If anything happens it is not in my power."

"I don't believe you..."

The Queen's smile fainted. That was not the reaction she was expecting, she was hoping an "Okay. I trust you.", instead came out "I don't believe you...".This conjugation of words was something she had never heard. The Queen stand up straight, head cocked when noticing that James did not have the same glowing eyes as Tish had at the moment. That weird glowing, but vacant in some way. The Queen reached so she could touch his hair, but James stepped back.

"What are you, little boy?" James stepped back once more. "You are different. My words have no effect on you. Why? You are young, but your eyes are look old. Wise."

"James was always smart." Said Tish under this weird hypnosis.

"No, sweetie, this is no smarts. This is something else." The Queen stepped forth towards James. "Don't you like me, child? Don't I look trustful and kind?" James felt something go up his spine and explode in his chest.

Her words sounded like honey coming down a chocolate mountain. The Queens voice ran in his head like a song of perfect chords. He felt butterflies in his stomach and when he looked at the Queen, James felt like there was no way she would ever hurt them.

"My smile, my voice and ways don't inspire you trust…" Yet, James, being the smart boy he was, shook off the feeling. The Queen saw him. "That! What have you done?"

"Nothing!"

"You're not listening!" The Queen grabbed James by his arms, digging her nails on his flesh. "Why aren't you listening?!" James shook off the Queens long fingers with strong hands and darted for the front door, like a spear. "GET HIM!"

James ran as fast as he could. He ran out the door, cross the street and down. He looked over his shoulder and saw the Queen's men running after him with pointed guns. James kept running through empty streets, wondering where everybody was. There was no one in sight.

"HELP!" He screamed from the top of his lungs. "HELP, PLEASE!"

He turned around in the corner, but was grabbed by a strong arm. James screamed his heart out, fought as hard as he could, but he couldn't avoid the needle was hit in the arm and sent him to unconsciousness.

When James regained consciousness, he could hear the Queen's voice on his ear, when he looked up, realized he was sitting on her lap. His vision was foggy, his hearing was as if he was under water and he couldn't keep his balance. The Queen had her hand around his waist, steading him.

They were in front, of what it seemed to be a recording device. It wasn't a camera, but it had a red light and next to it, sitting on a char guarded by soldiers, was Gorka. He had a rope tied around his arm, ice on his head and a blue button on his chest. When the Queen was done talking, the soldiers removed the camera and Gorka was put to his feet.

"Now, you can go." Said the Queen. The soldiers placed a golden disc on Gorka's left pocket.

"I don't know where they are."

"Don't take me for a fool, Gorka. You did it once, you won't do it again. I know you were the one to tell the Doctor that Martha Jones was the necessary key in this. I know you betrayed me from the start! After all, the Resistance does need an insider, does it not?" Gorka doesn't say a word. The Queen's eyes are cold and her voice is sharp. "I should have you killed…I should have your head…"

"Like you did with the Queen, King and the Council?"

"I never killed them." Said the Queen. "They died peacefully in their sleep."

"They did?" Asked Tish with a curious tone and with a glow in her eyes. "How sad…"

"Indeed, my pearl. Indeed." The Queen continued with a strong voice, looking at Gorka. "Go, deliver the message. If you survive, you are allowed to return…"

One of the men, pushed the button on his chest and a ball of blue light involved his body and Gorka disappeared in thin air. The Queen sighed heavily, but showed a very glorious smile, when turning to Tish.

"Now, what's your favorite color?"

"Why?"

"I'm ordering you a proper dress, my dear. If you're going to stay with me, you'll have to dress accordingly." Tish said that she loved light blue. Then the Queen turned her attention to James, who was still very drowsy. "And you, my love, I shall care for you like you were mine." She said kissing James on his temple. "You will be the Queen's son. My little James."

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

_X – SO, THIS IS THE PLAN AND IT MIGHT NOT WORK._


	10. Chapter 10

_*sorry for the delay. I've got a job, so it has been hard to manage my time. I will try and be more consistent and update as soon as possible. Keep you reviews coming, they mean a lot to me :)*_

**X**

** TO IDRA WE GO**

When the video stops playing Martha's heart is heavy with concern. Her child is in the hands of this mad Queen with honey in her words and who knew what could happen? While part of her was relieved with the fact that her sister Tish was with James, other part was very concerned for the boy's safety.

Not only because it was truly dangerous, but because Martha knew that James wasn't a normal boy. He didn't act like a normal five year old boy, instead he acted like he was older, wiser. Martha's fear was that que Queen noticed this and somehow took advantage and James might never be seen again.

The Doctor is still holding her hand, even though at the moment Martha couldn't feel anything but the concern in her heart. The Doctor's hand is steady, big with long fingers and gave a tight grip. It is a hand that would never let go. It is still worm, soft and it felt good. To keep her calm, the Doctor was still gently squeezing her hand, letting her know that he is right there and he would do anything in his power to get James and Tish safe home.

Even though all hell just broke loose, Martha still needs to remain focused, keep calm and strong. It would not help to panic and go mad now. Rationality was the word, it was time to become a soldier once more. No feelings, only practice. Plan, execute and succeed.

Martha's eyes lock on Gorka who remains sited with and ice bag on his head. There are bags under his eyes, he is becoming slightly pale by the second and sweating like a cornered nun. Gorka wipes his sweaty forehead with the right hand and Martha sees it tremble violently.

"What happened to you?" Asks Martha watching.

Gorka shows a soft smile, looking up at Martha.

"Have you ever traveled through the time vortex? Is not fun."

"How do you that? I thought it wasn't possible for one to do it without a proper device."

Gorka shares a quick glance with the Doctor.

"I am my own device."

"What does that mean?"

With a fast movement, Gorka turns to his left and vomits. What comes out of his mouth is a yellow liquid that smells a lot like melting metal. He sits back up, wiping his mouth on the sleeve of his jacket then turns to Martha, who watches him with a sick look on her face.

"Sorry. Can we skip the questions and go back to the issue here: Do you want your child back or not?"

"Of course." The Doctor gives her a gentle squeeze on her hand.

"What do you know?"

"About?"

"Everything."

Martha looks at the Doctor through the corner of her eye, he was watching her as well.

"Not much. What can you tell me?"

Gorka was about to speak, when the Colonel raises one hand interrupting him.

"Whatever you have to say, you can say it in another place. Not here." He didn't raise his eyes of his map. This map showed Caleb 23, was pinned all over. Some of the pins were green, others were red and some were white. "This is a military base, not a coffee shop. If you want your answers, Dr. Jones, do it so elsewhere. I will not have distractions."

The Colonel looks at Gorka

"Your arrival here as set us on the map. The fact that you are here, means that the Queen knows we are alive, she knows were we are and she knows we will not sustain another attack. It's a matter of time 'till we start burning again."

"She won't attack you, Colonel."

"How do you know?"

Gorka looks at the Doctor for reinsurance and he steps in.

"I won't let it happen."

"You are but one man, Doctor."

"Time Lord actually, what makes the odds ever in my favor." He shows off a proud smile. "Don't worry, Colonel. The Queen won't get to us. We will leave, but I have one request..."

"That is?"

"Don't go chasing any ghosts." The Doctor said. The Colonel crosses his arms over his chest. "You heard me. If the Queen is out there, watching, the last thing you should do is poke the bear. I mean it, Colonel. " Said the Doctor. The Colonel nodded gently. "Good. Any update do call me."

Martha, the Doctor and Gorka leave the room all together leaving the Colonel and his soldiers behind.

Once the coast is clear, the Colonel calls out a hand full of soldiers and orders them to evacuate the premisses and help the people in the dungeons move as deeper as possible, then sends another group of soldiers to go reckon missions on the surrounding areas to make sure there are no other alien ships.

Meanwhile, Constantine keeps silent on the dark corner of the tent, he was hoping he could sneak out and be with Martha and the Doctor, because he saw it in her eyes.

When Martha saw that James had been taken, her eyes went dead and he could hear her spirit shatter into small pieces. He was created and trained only as a machine, a soldier, a killing metal beast even though he was half human. No touching, no kind words, no nice gestures. Until then he had no idea what feelings were, what being polite meat or just being nice meant, but he saw in Martha's eyes true feelings. He saw his human half.

So, he wants to get out of his tent and go find Martha, help her somehow and understand more of these weird feelings.

He actually walks toward the exit of the tent...

"Constantine" The Colonel yells his name. "Where are you going?"

Constantine, as cyborg has been taught to never, _ever_ ignore the calling from the Colonel.

"I was going to...check the perimeter, sir. "

The Colonel eyes scanned him, but then go back to the map.

"Take the twins with you, I heard they have new pieces. Any type of foreign object, abnormal movement, strangers both in the ground or air report immediately. Take your cars."

"Yes, sir."

"Keep communications with the towers and the base at all times."

"Yes, sir."

"You may go."

Constantine salutes and walks out of the tent. He wants to take the elevator, but instead he passes by it straight to the intensive care tent.

Martha sits down on the bed, the Doctor next to her and Gorka sits in a chair Constantine occupied moments earlier. Elga, the Princess's nanny, comes in with a new bag of ice for Gorka. The Doctor looks at his watch, time is flying by in Caleb 23 and Gorka has a soft yellow color on his face. The rain outside stopped and now is no more then just random drops of water, the strong sense of wet dirt wafts around the room.

The Doctor is doing his best to stay calm for Martha's sake, but without him noticing his leg trembles just a bit as the seconds fly by and as Gorka gets sicker and sicker.

"It is very simple. " Said Gorka "Once, a long time ago, there were two siblings, a boy and a girl, walking in the forest nearby their village, catching season fruits for their mother. It all happened very fast, one minute they were catching little orange berries from the bushes, then they were blinded by the white light that tore the sky in half and noise that nearly made them deaf. The meteor fell on this village called Ikebai, killing every living thing. The children ran back through smoke and acid, hoping to find any sign of life. Instead they found fire, blood, bodies and destruction. Everything was dust, grey and acid, no green, no purple, no blue.

Instead, there was a crater from where a dim white glow was coming. A crater so deep that in order to see what was in it, one had to climb to the edge. The youngest of the two, a small girl with a perky attitude, ran to the crater and climbed it despite the older brother's orders not to do so. She jumped in crater, then it was all...

"Light." Said Martha. The Doctor hadn't noticed yet, but Martha's eyes had gone black and she was now were still. "Light. Burning white light. A voice. A whisper in the wind. Pain. Pain. So much pain."

Martha's head drops and her body follows, but the Doctor is fast enough catching Martha before she collapse.

"It flies across the Universe, without any destination. It wants. It wishes. It has poison, black poison inside." Martha's voice is no more that a soft whisper. "The Queen wants it for it's power. "She cannot have me." it screams into my head. "she cannot!"

The Doctor holds Martha and whispers to her ear.

"What screams?"

"The meteor." Says Martha with a heavy sigh. Martha sits back, her head much heavier than before, so much she can barely think. "Oh! What was that?"

"The memory is coming back. The memory of the meteor."

"What?"

"Calm down. It'll come to you." With his arms still around Martha, the Doctor looks at Gorka who is sweating immensely. "How are you?"

"I'm fine"

"How long do think you have?"

"I can handle it."

" How long?"

Gorka takes deep breaths, then looks at his wrist watch.

"A few more minutes."

Martha sits back looking at Gorka.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Said Gorka. "When she came out of the crater, she had changed. The explosion of light was strong enough to kill both siblings, but it only burnt him slightly..." Gorka lifts the hem of his shirt up, showing his burnt torso. "Thought the younger sister, changed completely. When she came out of the crater, her hair that was once as black as midnight, was now so blonde and soft. Her eyes, that were once typical from that side of the planet and dark brown, were now grey and cold. Her lips that were once soft pink, were blood red. "Gorka showed sad and sorrow look. "My sister Alyanna was no more."

Martha looks at Gorka seeing the sadness in his eyes, but noticing how pale he looks.

"How did she get to the court?"

"She ran away from me." Said Gorka. "When I found her she was already there. The old Queen, the King and the all the members of the court were head over heels for her."

"How come everyone sees to know who I am?"

"You and the Queen are the only survivors." Says the Doctor.

Gorka wipes his forehead.

"Are you okay?" Gorka sighs heavily. His lips are white and cracked and his hands tremble. "What is that?" Martha points to his neck. Gorka touches the base of his head and comes with his fingers dirty with black ink.

"Doctor, my time..."

"Is running out. I see." The Doctor says. "Martha get out, find us a car. We need to leave, now."

"Why?" Asks Martha confused.

"Because we're out of time." The Doctor comes close to Gorka and helps him get up.

"Why are we out of time?"

"There's a bomb inside of me!" Gorka states in a high voice. The Doctor has his arm around his waist, while Gorka has his over the Doctor's shoulder. "Insertion."

"A bomb? Well, can't we get it out?" Asks Martha.

"Look at me..." Gorka says. "Do you think there's time to cut me open, get the bomb out, take it to a safe location, get out in time and survive? Don't be stupid, Martha."

"Get the car. Park it by the window and we'll take him away from the base. " Ordered the Doctor. "Find Constantine. He will help you. "

"Yes" Martha runs out of the room, while the Doctor stays behind with Gorka.

While Martha is out, the Doctor turns to Gorka.

"What do I do now?"

"She's in Angiolnyght with James and Tish, if you want them back...you'll need the meteor."

"Where is it?"

" Last known location was on a planet Idra, on the Nova galaxy."

"What can we do?" The Doctor asks. "How do we fight back?"

"Make sure you have the upper hand all times. If she gets two steps ahead of you...you will loose."

To Martha the elevator doesn't seem to move fast enough, but when the elevator reaches the last level, Martha gets out and bumps into Constantine.

"Wha...Martha?"

"I need you. I mean your car. And you. I need your car and you." Says Martha. Constantine looks around concerned.

"I can't. I have orders to go on a mission."

"Leave it. Come with me. We need your help!"

Constantine nods negatively.

"Can't."

Martha grabs his arm.

"There's a bomb inside Gorka, his time is running out and if we leave him here he will blow up this entire base!"

Constantine looks at Martha, then at tent where he can hear the Colonel's voice.

"Let us move quick then."

Constantine takes a hold of Martha's arm and together they run to the cars. Luckily no soldiers were at the gates,m but on the other hand the job of opening the gates had to be done by one.

Constantine knew that opening the gates without permission would trigger the alarm and they might be attacked by the towers outside. Yet, he didn't care. It just felt good to help Martha and the Doctor.

They arrive at the gates, finding the same hover car they came in – still with the TARDIS locked behind it.

"Wait." Says Constantine. " I need to get the doors open. Go in and start the car."

Martha takes the key from Constantine and runs to the car. The doors in the front open upward, like a Delorean and Martha jumps to the drivers seat. Now, from the back the couldn't see how complicated the dash was, there was more then just the wheel and the stick. The dash was covered with buttons and a big leaver.

"Which button?"

"_Thebigredone._"

Martha puts her head out of the car. Constantine was by the big wooden doors unlocking them and unraveling the big metal chains.

"What?"

"The big red one!"

Martha turns to the dash, takes a few seconds in search of the button, but eventually finds it. When pressed the button starts the car making it shake and lights it up.

"Got it!"

"_Good! Now, see the leaver on you right?_"

"Yes!"

Constantine shows up next to her.

"Don't touch it" Martha feels the car vibrating under her, she looks over her shoulder to see Constantine pushing the big heavy doors all by himself. Immediately two white spotlights shine upon him.

Constantine runs to the car, Martha jumps to the other seat while Constantine takes over the driver's seat. The car flies out of the atrium, turning the the left and going up to the window where the Doctor was waiting with Gorka.

"How is he?" Asks Martha pushing the door up.

"Not good." Says the Doctor helping Gorka get in the car.

"We need to go now." Says Constantine.

"Take us to the ocean." Says the Doctor. "It will be far enough."

"Can't we save him, Doctor?" Asks Martha in the back "Isn't there a way?"

The Doctor doesn't say it out loud but he knows the answer. There's no salvation for Gorka. Punishment by Insertion is the worst type, because it leaves no survivors. It's a death sentence.

They all get inside the car. The Doctor and Constantine on the front seat, Martha and Gorka on the back.

"I need to speak..." Asks Constantine with eyes closed. His seating next to Martha and she's holding another bag of ice against his head.

"Don't. Save your strength."

"I don't need it anymore." He said. "You need to understand that this meteor is very powerful source of energy. It's a living organism, it has a mind of it's own and it knows what it wants. This meteor fell on Angiolnyght as a normal occurrence, after all Angiolnyght is a big planet and it attracts all kind of foreign objects, but...it is dangerous. If it happens to fall into the wrong hands it can cause destruction."

"What do you mean?"

"My sister always wanted to be strong, powerful and the meteor gave her that. The reason why she changed so much, was because the meteor also influenced her." Gorka grunts violently when pain shots up his spine. Constantine is doing his best flying the car as far as possible. "She wants to take over the planet, the galaxy, if not the entire universe. She wants to be the only ruler! She wants it all and having a pure source of power like the meteor is the perfect way to begin. Don't let her have it."

"How can she do that? She's just one person."

"She's more than that. You...You need to understand that the meteor takes energy from those who touch it, it feeds on energy and power...It will suck you dry. It will kill you. "

"It didn't kill me."

"Because you had life within you." Said Gorka. "It saw the life that was forming inside of you... It wouldn't kill you so it only took your energy, but stole the life of those around you." Gorka sighed heavily. "My sister...Alyanna was never...truly...just a child..."

"What do you mean?"

Gorka looks at Martha his eyes are now yellow and tired, but he does not answer instead he screams in pain. There's black ink coming out of his ears, nose and eyes. Gorka's time is over.

The Doctor turns to the back seat looking at Gorka. They were now flying over the deep purple ocean, that looks like a mass concrete ground.

"Sorry. I can't save you."

"Doctor, there has to be a way." Said Martha. The didn't even look at her.

"There isn't." Said Gorka "Remember what I told you do not let her near that meteor or her power will not end." Gorka puts his hand of the leaver by the door. "It was a pleasure, Doctor."

Opens the door and jumps out falling into the darkness. For a second Martha doubts there was an ocean beneath them, but then a sudden rush of air and wind comes from under the car, shaking the car violently.

After the initial shock and a minute of silence, Constantine drove the car back to base. The mood inside the car was heavy and full of sorrow.

The Doctor had the familiar taste of death in his mouth. It was sower and bitter. He hated the taste like nothing else. Many times had he promise to never taste death on his lips again, but over and over again death makes it self notice.

Martha was struggling as well, one minute she was holding the bag of ice on her hands against Gorka's forehead, the other he was jumping off the car. She looks at the back of the Doctor's head and feels sick. This wasn't the Doctor she knew, the 10th Doctor would never let a person die. He would try and save every single soul.

"Stop the car." She says.

Constantine looks at the review mirror with a confused look.

"What?"

"Stop or land this car, Constantine. I need to get out. I need fresh air."

Constantine slows down the car, flying closer to the ground. Martha doesn't wait for the car to touch base, she just jumps out touching the muddy soil. There she stays breathing the moist air and feeling the cold wind from the ocean."

"Martha..." The Doctor comes out of the car."

"Did you just let a man die?" She asks without turning to face the Doctor. "We could have saved him somehow."

"There was nothing I could do." The Doctor approaches Martha coming face to face with her. Constantine gets out of the car, waiting by it in silence with hands behind his back. "Insertion is a death sentence. I am sorry. I tried my best, there is so much I can do. The Queen wanted him to die...so he did." Martha looks away from the Doctor, but he did not give up. "Hug?" Martha looks at him then says yes and the Doctor wraps his arms around her in a worm hug´. "I remember when we met Shakespeare, how fun it was! Experlliarmus! It will all end up okay. Trust me. I am the Doctor."

"I know."

The Doctor falls back from the hug and claps his hands showing a big smile.

"Now!" He made a turn "The Queen hast the upper hand, she knows were we are, but she has no idea where we are going."

"Where are we going?" Asks Martha.

"Idra. It's on the Nova galaxy." The Doctor reaches and gives Martha a kiss on her forehead. "Where's my TARDIS?" The Doctor turns around and sees Constantine pointing to the blue box parked behind the car. "To Idra!"

The Doctor runs to his TARDIS, pushing the doors and going inside leaving the doors open. Martha walks to the blue box.

"May I go?" Constantine asks looking at the horizon. Martha stops and the Doctor pops his head out of the blue box.

"You want to come with us?" The Doctor asks.

"Yes." Constantine looks ahead like a well trained soldier. "I want to do more. You'll need protection, Idra is a hostile planet devastated by 100 years of war." Constantine looks to the Doctor "I have guns."

"I don't like guns." Says the Doctor plain and simple without a smile. "He steps out of the TARDIS walking to Constantine "I do not allow guns in my TARDIS."

"I won't bring any" Says Constantine. "Promise"

The Doctor takes a good look at Constantine. He liked Constantine, he was a good soldier and a good man (cyborg).

"It's been a while since a ginger stepped on my TARDIS" He jumps, claps his hands then runs inside his blue box again followed by Martha and the new companion. The doors close behind them, the coordinates are set and the blue box disappears.

When the TARDIS lands, the Doctor, Martha and Constantine run to the doors. When they walk out bullets fly over their heads making them stop.

"HANDS ON YOUR HEAD!"

In front of them, a group of twenty masked soldiers has them at gun point. Slowly the three companions lift their hands over their heads.

"We come in peace!" Says Martha.

"Since when does that work?" The Doctor asks looking at Martha "We mean you no harm."

"_That's_ a lot better, Doctor!" Says Martha with sarcasm.

The soldiers cock their guns and point laser beams against the three strangers.

"You have ten seconds to state your name and purpose on this planet!" The voice orders once more. "Ten"

"Oh great!" says Martha "That's exactly what we need!"

"Nine."

"We have no guns!" Yells the Doctor. "Can't you see?"

"Obviously they can't." Says Martha.

"Eight!" Yells the voice one more time.

"I don't think they care." Advices Constantine with hands on his head. "They will shoot, I advice you to talk."

"Seven!"

"And tell them what? " Asks the Doctor. "That we came here looking for a meteor?"

"Six!"

"Yes." Says Constantine. "Isn't that the truth?"

"Where's the fun in telling the truth, Constantine?"

"Five!"

"It will help you live."

"Four!"

"I have a better idea."

"Three!"

"Get inside." The Doctor opens the TARDIS door, Martha and Constantine get in closing the door behind them. The Doctor reaches the panel, sets new coordinates and the TARDIS is off before the soldiers reach the end of the countdown.

When the TARDIS stops, the first one to get out is Martha, but what she sees terrifies her. The land is black and dead. Ashes fly in the wind, the trees are black and crooked. The only light comes from beyond the horizon line, it's an orange glow.

"Something's burning." Says Constantine looking at the horizon.

Above their heads a space ship flies low toward the burning horizon.

"Come on." Says the Doctor looking at his wrist watch. "The meteor will hit in two hours. Until then we need to hide."

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	11. Chapter 11

_*Sorry for the delay in updating this. Hope you enjoy it, as much I enjoyed writing it.*_

**XI**

**SKYFALL**

Idra, on the Nova Galaxy, has been in war for about 100 years. This war has been going for so long, it has had so many casualties that the people in Idra forgot it's purpose. Idra was known to be a mirror of Earth on a far away galaxy. It's oceans were blue, as a reflection of the sky above, the grass was green and the mountains were as high as the eye could see.

With the years and the bombs, the sky was no longer blue, but dark shades of grey with thick clouds and pour out acid rain. There was no grass, only endless fields of dead dirt, ash and the ocean was now a reflection of the sky. The planet was dead.

On the horizon black smoke rose like a thick snake kissing the heavens. Occasional there was a flare of red, usually followed by a tremor, that could be felt for miles, caused by the bombs that fell far away. This war had no begin, it didn't seem to have an end.

Somehow, miles away a meteor is attracted to the power of the planet and is heading straight there.

Constantine comes out of the TARDIS and stares at the place around them.

"How do you know we're in the right place?"

The Doctor comes out next running.

"I just know."

"How do you know?!"

"Do you always ask so many questions?"

"Yes." Constantine answered. "So, how big is this meteor?"

The Doctor takes a quick look around.

"Well, when it lands it looses power so it actually shrinks down to an almost normal size..."

"How can a meteor shrink? Meteors don't shrink!"

"Normal ones usually don't, no. Normally meteors are bits and pieces of rock, dead rock, flying across the universe. Now, this meteor, it's a lot a things, but not dead. It's a living organism, it has a mind of its own, it feeds of ones energy.

When it's weak or it's attracted to a planet's mass, it falls and the fall makes it shrink down and there it waits for someone to meet. It's power and hunger are so strong, they usually kill whomever touches them. Think if it like a death. When touched it grows back to life and there it goes again."

"That...is very unusual."

"It's the universe, Constantine. Nothing is impossible."

"So, how big is the impact?"

The Doctor looks around again, making some calculations.

"Well, the crash zone is right here, so the impact wave can go all the way to those..."

"Wait...Wait...We are on the bulls eye?"

"Yes." Constantine begins to talk when, the Doctor cuts him off. " Well, don't worry Constantine, I'll get us out in a second. Besides, it's not like is going to crash on top of our heads, it's a bit more to the left...right behind those trees, right there, see it?"

The Doctor stops a few steps away, takes out something from his pocket, puts it on his face, then looks to the sky. Martha comes out next and gives Constantine a soft pad on the back.

"It helps not asking questions, just go along. It tends to be easier."

"Listen to her!" The Doctor pointed out, while looking up. "She's_ still_ wise!"

Martha let's out rolls her eyes and looks around, trying to figure out where exactly they had landed. It was all okay, when something caught her eye.

Meanwhile, the Doctor keeps his eyes on the sky.

"What are you doing?" Constantine asks coming closer to the Doctor. "Is that a magnifying glass?"

The Doctor has in his had the biggest magnifying glass Constantine has ever seen.

"Yes, and I'm reading."

"Reading what?"

"The sky."

The Doctor looks at his watch, mumbles something incomprehensible, then looks at the stars once more.

"How can you read the sky?"

"I can, because I can. Stop asking questions, I'm already regretting having you along." The Doctor looks at Constantine, then sighs. It was rather complicated, heaving to explain every single little thing. "I'm figuring out the distance from the meteor, it's velocity, weight..."

"How's that..."

The Doctor stops what his doing, puts one finger to his lips and goes

"Shhh..."

Immediately Constantine goes silent. The Doctor ignores him, continuing to look at the stars. Eventually, Constantine grows tired of trying to talk and resumes to patrolling the TARDIS.

They were in an open black field that went on for miles, away from everyone and everything. The ground beneath their feet was dead, the trees around them were mostly dust and there was moister in the air. It wasn't soon before dawn, but the fire on the horizon made it look like it was day. According to Gorka's instruction, and the Doctor's deduction, the meteor would strike right there in less then an hour.

"Okay!" Says the Doctor. Constantine pops up from behind the TARDIS . "We seem to be in the right place at the right time."

"Good. Just one thing, though... "He points at the fire "I do not like that. It's getting closer."

Above their head a ship flies by, really close to the ground. It went towards the fire, becoming no more than a black dot in a orange canvass. A minute later, a big flare of red blinds the two for a few seconds and the shock wave hits them hard. Another bomb has fallen.

"And bigger."

The Time Lord and the Cyborg regain their composer.

"Can they see us?"

"No. TARDIS perception filter, we'll be safe. Can you identify the weapons?"

"So far, they've been using regular ones. No chemicals or nuclear." Says Constantine staring at the horizon. "Doesn't mean they won't change their mind."

"Blimey..." Says the Doctor.

"Don't even think about it." Points Constantine. The Doctor looks at him with a puzzled look. "I know what you do. You fix things."

"Fix?"

"Yes. When things are wrong, you go out of your way to fix them." Constantine points to the fire. "Somethings just can't be fix, Doctor. You just have to let them burn."

"That's not how I do things."

"Yes. I know, but this time this type of fish you cannot catch." Both of them stay silent for a few seconds, watching the fire burn on the horizon. Constantine looks around remembering that someone was missing. The Doctor seems to notice that a voice was silent for more than usual.

"Constantine?" He asks looking around, meeting the Cyborg's eyes. "Where's Martha?"

Meanwhile, Martha was walking to towards this small house on top of this hill. It was by mere accident, that her eyes fell on this house. The house was small, surrounded by dead trees. It had two windows, a hanging wood door and these elements combined made it feel as If the house was screaming. There was something about the fact that this house was nothing more than ashes and dust, that let Martha to a uneasy state. Martha could turn away, go back to the Doctor and Constantine, but instead she finds herself moving forward.

Martha walks into the house with the ground cracking beneath her feat. How it is still intact, it was a pure mystery. What was within was nothing more than an echo of what it once were.

Martha walks in and out of empty rooms, recognizing what little furniture composed the house in the past. She ends her tour at the bottom of the stairs to the upper floor. Her foot stops on the first step, when she sees the flare of red, later feeling the shock wave. Minutes pass heavy, before she decides to go up the stairs.

The Dra. finds a small hall that curves to left, with four doors. Martha pushes the first door and it was nothing that could be recognizable at naked eye. Just pure blackness. The same was for the second room. The third room didn't even have a door, for the room itself had vanished and Martha was staring at the horizon that was burning red. Martha walks to the last door, pushes it and what she sees made her tremble. No, it wasn't a nursery or a specifically decorated room. Actually, it's only recognizable furniture was a king size bed. The room was mostly intact, there were pieces and bits of glass, wood and other material that Martha couldn't identify, scattered all over the floor. Martha walked over them, then sat calmly on the bed.

It didn't take long to hear heavy steps walking downstairs and male voices screaming her name.

"Martha!" She heard Constantine's voice, but kept silent. Martha had no voice at his moment, she could only hear.

"Martha!" Now the Doctor was calling. She heard the sonic screwdriver buzzing sound and kept silent. "Upstairs!"

The footsteps ran up the stairs and it didn't take long for the Doctor to show up at the bedroom door, alongside Constantine.

The Doctor looked at Martha. Understanding this would be a very important moment in this adventure, he adjusted his bowtie. Very politely turned to Constantine.

"Would you mind giving us a few minutes, Constantine?"

The Cyborg took a quick glance at Martha, then nodded at the Doctor leaving them alone.

The Doctor approaches Martha and sits next to her in silence. For a while there was nothing said and the only noise were the bombs exploding and ships flying close to the ground.

"Is our honesty hour still standing?" Asks Martha in a low voice. "I have something to tell you."

"I think it's been more than an hour, but you know you can tell me everything."

"Not everything."

"Well, a few things. Yes. That aren't boring and are somewhat relevant to me." Noticing he was being quite selfish, the Doctor mended himself. "But, right now you can tell me everything. I'm all ears."

Martha was silent for the next five minutes and the Doctor didn't even move. He was waiting for Martha to feel ready to talk, without any pressure.

"It was my week off from UNIT. I had been very tired, working late, every day a new problem, a new crisis or a threat and I was exhausted. So I took a week off. Mickey said it wasn't enough, but more than that and I would go bonkers.

We had just finished dinner, I was washing the dishes and Mickey was with James, when the phone rang. Mickey pick it up. There was alien activity at this old factory, just outside London and apparently things were out of control. The task force was needed."

"Didn't know that UNIT had a task force."

"Most of the times, our enemies were much stronger then us in every way possible. Regular soldiers were dying like flies before the task for was created. They were ten men, the best of the best, all trained by Mickey."

"I had not idea that Mickey was that good."

"He was the best.

So, when Mickey's team was called, I knew things were bad. I had a feeling. I saw him hug James really tight and tell him to take care of me, then he came and kissed me..."

Martha kept quiet for a second looking at the shattered glass a few inches away from her right foot.

"When he looked into my eyes I saw something, that I couldn't understand. He held me so tight, Doctor. Like he knew he wasn't coming back. Then he was off."

Martha kept silent for a while, looking at the piece of glass. She didn't even notice that the Doctor was actually watching her for a while now.

"The hours dragged and I had no news whatsoever. Not even on TV. Nothing. Which means it was pretty serious. No one would pick up the phone. I would call to base and no one would answer. So, I made up my mind, instead of pacing back and forth in pure agony, I called Tish – poor Tish, it was about 02:00am when I rang her – told her to watch James and I left."

Martha gets up and walks towards the dresser, touching it with her fingertips.

"When I got there..." Martha pushed a drawer, then closes it again. "When I got there it was an absolute mess. Trucks everywhere, men holding guns, ambulances, firetrucks... even Torchwood was there."

"Jack, was there?"

"Yes, he was. Poor Jack." Martha opens another drawer, then closes it once more. "Poor Jack. I nearly killed him."

"Why?"

Martha stops what she's going, looks at the Doctor. The Time Lord now sees in her eyes the true sadness, she's been hiding all along and it breaks his heart. Martha walks back to bed, this time siting really close to the Doctor.

"When I got there I showed my badge, demanded questions, but got none. No one would talk to me. It was like they were afraid of me or something. I managed to see the factory and..." Martha looked around "It was just like this house. All black, smokey and ashes. That's when I knew something went wrong. The first person I saw was Jack. He had been inside with the force also, and he told me that..."

Martha takes a deep breath. It had been a while since she told the story of how Mickey died. She certainly never thought that the topic would ever be mentioned again, specially to the Doctor.

"The team went in and everything was going fine, when a fire broke out. Mickey, being the leader, got every single member of his team out, but when it was his time to go... the ceiling gave in and it fell on him"

When Martha ceased talking, there were no tears on her eyes, just sadness. All the tears she once had, she had spent it crying for Mickey.

The Doctor gives her a solid hug, surrounding her with his arms and rocking her back and forth.

"He was a great man."

"He said you treated him like the tin dog."

The Doctor lets go of the hug.

"I never said he was the tin dog, he thought that. Mickey always felt underestimated."

"That's because you only had eyes for Rose."

The Doctor get's up.

"Why can't you let it go? Both of you!"

"Well, that's because we were both around while and after the Rose effect." Said Martha. "You stole Rose from him..."

"I didn't steel anything!" Argued the Doctor. "She came with me, the same way you did. I didn't steel anything." The Doctor walks to door, then comes back. He was not amused. "A lot has changed since then. Rose is in a parallel world and she's happy. You're here..."

"Mickey, isn't."

"But, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

Martha looks at him, scrutinizing every single line on his brand new face.

"You're not him, you know." She says sadly. "My Doctor. Ten."

"Yes, I am. Of course I am."

"No, you're not." Martha comes closer, touches his bowtie and smiles "But I like you, anyway."

They come together in another hug. The Doctor has his mind elsewhere. He caught sight of a stuffed animal, half burnt, in the corner of the bedroom and remembered something.

"Martha..."

"Yes?"

"We need to talk about James."

"What about him?"

The Doctor let's go of the hug and looks Martha straight in the eye.

"I think you know."

This time the ground shakes violently, as if it were an earthquake and strong light shots through the house. The impact was so close and so violent, that Martha and the Doctor both hit the ground. For a second there's no sound and both of them remain down.

"DOCTOR!" Constantine's screams fly up the stairs. When he walks into the room, he sees Martha and the Doctor down, runs to them and tries to put them to their feet. "Come on. Let's go."

"What...What was that?" Asks the Doctor after regaining control of his body.

"A big and close one." Said Constantine. He held Martha close. "It wasn't from the ground, though. Are you okay, Martha?"

Martha shakes her head trying to regain her balance, but she falters and Constantine grabs hold of her, carries Martha on his arms and walks to the stairs.

"What do you mean?" The Doctor asks.

"You'll see. Crack on, Doctor. We cannot stay here."

The three of them run out of the remains of the house. Only outside did the Doctor see the size of the blast that hit the field next to property. It wasn't caused by a bomb, but by a big size black rock, that tore everything around it.

"Blimey..."

The Doctor looks at the sky, suddenly wishing he hadn't. Constantine and Martha were far ahead, but the Time Lord was stuck at his place, just looking at what was coming from above, but not yet understating. It was big, it was a ball of white fire, coming at an angle that was not favoring the their position.

"Oh no...noo...nooo it's too early!"

Constantine is far ahead, but he can hear the Doctor's cry and stops. They are almost close to the TARDIS.

"Doctor, let's go!"

"The meteor. Is coming!"

Constantine goes back to the Doctor.

"I can see that! You were obviously wrong. "

"I'm not wrong!"

"Look at the sky! You said we had one hour, we obviously don't."

" Yes, we do. Or I thought we did. We don't. How? It's way to early."

"Okay, fine...Can we go back to the TARDIS, now?"

"No!" The Doctor screams. "We're to far away from the TARDIS."

Constantine hisses and clenches his jaw.

"Why would you park your bloody TARDIS right at the bulls eye?"

"I thought we had time!"

"We obviously don't. You got it wrong!"

The Doctor stares at Constantine.

"No." Said Martha in his arms. "Don't say that to him. Put me down, I'm okay."

Constantine gently puts Martha on the ground, and anxiously waits while she takes a few deep breaths and concentrates.

"How far?"

"Three minutes far."

"Can we get to the TARDIS and transport under three minutes?"

The Doctor and the rest watch as the ball of white fire comes down fast from afar.

"I don't think so." Said Constantine.

"Doctor?" Asks Martha, ignoring Constantine's remark.

"We're closer to the house. We'll go there." The Doctor said. "Under the stairs I saw a trapdoor, must lead the way to a cellar, we'll hide there. Go." Both Constantine and Martha sprint back to the house. The Doctor hangs back, points the sonic screwdriver to the TARDIS and the time traveling machine disappears into thin air.

The three of them run back to the hill as fast as they can. Over their heads the meteor flies low, shower of white fire with hot wind and loud noise. The earth trembles, the trees that were barely standing bend down to never seen positions. The sky rips in half by the massive ball of fire. The noise is so loud, that nearly makes them deaf as they run. The wind blows so hard, that is impossible to run on a straight line. The meteor will fall on top of them. They will die.

The trio reach the house just in time. Around them bits and pieces of the house tremble and fly as if they were alive.

Constantine closes the door behind them, while the Doctor makes a run for the stairs and opens the door, both him and Martha jump in. Constantine jumps next, then shuts the door, behind him. Wherever they were it was so dark, they could barely see a finger in front of their nose.

"Now what?" Asks Constantine.

"What do you mean, now what...we wait, that's what!" Martha answers in the dark.

"I was just asking."

"Stop asking!"

"Shush both of you!" Ordered the Doctor. "Don't you find it odd, the fact that we are still alive?"

The moment the Doctor shuts it's mouth, the impact that hits them is so hard and violent that knocks them out completely. It all happens so fast, they couldn't even think about it. The pain would come later, when the dust had settled and the toxic gas had vanish. For now, they were buried under a house.

_MEANWHILE, IN ANGYOLNIGHT..._

The Queen looks steadily at James. The boy did not eat since he was brought here and he refuses to do so. The Queen, being the gentle soul, brings him food all the time, but that little rascal won't eat. Just like now.

They are sitting at the enormous table at the grand hall. The Queen in the middle, Tish on the left and James on the right. Tish, being the ever so kind pearl, eats every single thing on her plate. She wears now a golden dress with a very intricate hairdo with small pearls tuck in the locks of her brow hair.

"Tish..." The Queen calls, without looking away from James. "You do look wonderful."

"Thank you, my Queen."

James hits the table with his fist.

"She's not your Queen, aunt Tish!"

He looks at the Queen with a courageous look, as if he's not afraid of her. In fact, he isn't. Mickey had taught his son to not let fear win, always be brave and always fight. James was a very good student.

Tish is ready to answer him, but the Queen raises her hand silencing the young woman. She looks at James and says.

"Behave."

James looks at her with those big green eyes, like emeralds. He reaches for the glass with some red juice, picks it up and hangs it over the carpet. In one motion, James turns the glass upside down spilling the red juice all over the white carpet. Then puts the glass on the table again with a big bang.

The Queen just stares at him, like she could kill him, but instead she leans back on her chair.

"The thing about you, James, is that you are a complete mystery to me. You can feel it, can't you? What I can do?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Let me explain. I was the youngest and the only girl, no one ever cared about me. No one would even remember to care about me. I was invisible. So, I always wanted people to notice me, to believe in me and to admire me, most of all. I would never be invisible again."

The Queen took her golden cup and took a little sip of her beverage.

"When that meteor landed, I got my wish. My hair, my skin, my smell...people noticed me now. I wasn't invisible any more I got to the city and the Queen noticed me and immediately fell in love with me. Who wouldn't? She took me in and the moment I opened my mouth, every single word was honey. Every lie was truth, every sin was forgiven, all my requests were divine orders. They worshipped me. Still do, I believe. You won't fine one soul on this planet, that does not love me. "

" But you..." The Queen looks at James "My gift does not work on you."

"Maybe I'm smart." Asks James.

"This is not smarts, oh no and you know it! You can feel it. Every time I tell, order you to do something you do the complete opposite. You fight me."

"I'm a fighter."

"Yes, yes you are. Your aunt Tish is too, but look here..." The Queen turns to Tish, who has been very quietly eating a strange green cake. "Tish, how is you chocolate cake?"

Tish looks at her plate looking rather confused. The cake is clearly not chocolate, is not even brown. It's lima green and the taste on her mouth is very strong, typical lemon taste. And yet...

"It's very good. I really do enjoy chocolate. Didn't even know there was chocolate on your planet."

The Queen smiles with victory, while Tish continues to eat the lima green cake with complete satisfaction.

"See what I did there? It can go from the simplest thing, to the deadliest sing. That's how a convinced the old Queen, King and Council to take a medicine they never needed."

"I will tell everyone."

"Ah! By all means, use my balcony and shout it out to the people... They will not believe you. Not one. The truth can be right there, but they won't believe you. Even those who never heard my voice, believe in what they hear. " She says very amused. "Now, tell her that your aunt she's wrong, that she's not eating chocolate and you'll see."

James looks at his aunt that keeps eating like a it was a miracle. She really believed on what she was eating.

"Aunt Tish...that's not..."

"James, please!" Tish interrupts with a very frustrated look on her face. "You've embarrassed me enough. We're in the presence of a Queen!"

"That's not chocolate cake."

"Of course, it is. Look at it! Now, will you please behave. This is the Queen. " Tish turns to the Queen, with a embarrassed look on her face. "I am so sorry, I have no idea what's gotten in to him. If his mother were here..."

The Queen raises her hand, silencing the young woman, then looks at James.

"See? I just told her, she was eating a chocolate cake – something that doesn't even exist here on Angyonight – and she believes even though she can see it's not. She believes in every single thing I say." The Queen looks at Tish and smiles. "You know what, dear Tish? I believe you can grow wings."

Tish stops eating.

"You do?"

"Of course." Said the Queen. "Stand on that ledge over there, I'll count to three, jump and you'll land safely on the ground."

Tish looks at the James, with a clear confused look on her face, as if she knew that doing what she was about to do was somewhat wrong or scary. Yet, she looks at the Queen, that gives her the positive nod, then gets up and walks to the balcony facing the hills of Angyolnight.

"AUNT THIS, NO!"

"Don't scream, James." Said the Queen. "Keep going, Tish. That's right. Stand right there." Tish lift up her dress and stood on the parapet, as if she was more than accustomed to the situation. The dress dances against the wind and she tries to steady her position. One false move and Tish would kiss the ground beneath her.

"Here's the thing, James, _you_ have immunity to my power. You're clearly not affected my what I say or do. I mean, your aunt ´clearly feels what I say...Isn't that right, Tish?"

Tish nearly falls down, but manages to stay steady. Tish looks over her shoulder and shows a small smile.

"Let her down."

"The question is: how is this possible? How can you not listen to me?"

"I don't know."

The Queen gets up and grabs hold of his arm, sinking her nails into his flesh. Anyone who got to be this close would smell flowers, cinnamon, spring or honey, but to James it was just this very intense smell that made him sick.

"Yes, you do, little boy! Something is wrong about you and I don't know what it is. Your eyes are green, you look young but clearly you're old, way to smart for your age and..."

The Queen stops talking suddenly looking into James's eyes.

"The only other person who was able to do this was Gorka. My brother." The Queen grabs a handful of James hair. "My brother suffered burns from the meteor...He was there when I was reborn...but you...you weren't there. You weren't there when you mother touched the meteor, either. Where you?"

Suddenly, the Queen connects the final dot and shows a huge white smile. She violently pushed off James and let's go an immense laugh. When she calms down, the Queen yells for the guards.

"Come down, dear Tish. Come down. " Tish gets down for the parapet, visibly shaking and afraid. The Queen greats her with a worm hug, but the young woman is still terrified. The Queen then pushes Tish against a guard, that grabs her firmly. "Lock her up."

"But...my Queen!" Mutters Tish as she is dragged by the guards "My Queen, please."

"Shut her up."

When Tish crosses the door, her screams are no longer heard. The Queen turns to James now.

"Your mother was pregnant when she touched the meteor." She said, taking her seat. "I wonder if the Doctor has realized this yet."

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	12. Chapter 12

**XII **

**LEVERAGE**

"_Martha..."_

A distant voice called from miles away. It was nothing more then a faint whisper brought by the gentle breeze of the night.

"_Martha, you have to wake up..."_

The voice has no body, but Martha can heart it as clear as day. So close to her ear she can almost feel the worm breath against her skin.

"_Martha, stop it now. "_

She did recognize the voice, but she could not give it a face. Why couldn't she? After all, that voice, that whisper was familiar to her ears. She did recognize the sound of that voice.

Martha felt the soft touch of another hand on her wrist. Whomever toke a hold of her wrist, had a strong grip.

"_Martha!"_

Martha felt a strong pull, then her eyes shot open and quickly she was seated. A wind mixed of feeling overcame her body; her mind was racing, her heart was pounding against her chest and there was a tingling sensation on the tips of her fingers and on her toes.

Martha touched her right wrist, still sensing that worm touch against that skin, that tight grip that pulled her out of herself.

Growing accustomed to the dim light, Martha saw the destruction surrounding her. By some sort of miracle it was like the entire house had fallen around them but not on top of them. There were bits of wood, glass, metal and plastic scattered all over the place. In the farthest corner a night lamp was the only light source, without it they could easily fall into darkness.

"What...?"

"Ah! You're awake"

A voice said. Martha looked around to find the body of this voice, but found none. The Doctor's head popped behind a fallen table

Even with poor light, Martha could see the Doctor's big smile.

"So are you. You look good. "

" Thank you. You...well, you could be worse. I'm glad to see you're up. Had me worried for a second or two. Don't do that again."

"Yes..." Martha moved her fingers. "I heard you calling me."

"Calling you?"

Martha looked at the Doctor with an inquisitive look.

"Yes, I heard you."

"That's odd...and perhaps a bit awkward."

"Why?"

"I saw you were unconscious, but fine and went away to find a way out. Did not say your name once."

"Doctor, I heard your voice right next to my ear."

"I'm telling you, I did not say your name. I was back here."

"Then..."

Martha held her tongue before speaking. She was positively sure she had heard a voice calling her name, a voice just as clear as the Doctor's right next to her. If wasn't the Doctor who had called for her, who had? And the grip? Who had gripped her wrist so tight, then pulled her out of unconsciousness?

Martha looked at the Doctor, his face might be new but she still knew when he was lying. This Doctor wasn't lying.

"What? What is it?"

"Hum? Nothing. Never mind." Martha shook her hands again. "Did you use a defibrillator on me or something?"

"Why would I do that?"

"I feel weird." Martha shook her entire body, trying to get rid of that tingling sensation."Like someone used a taser on me or something."

"No." Martha shook her hands hard and eventually it wore off, but she still felt weird. "Are you alright, Martha?"

Martha looked at the Doctor who had a concerned look on his face and she tried her best to smile.

"I'm fine."

"Good!" He smiled back "Come here. I need your help."

"With what?"

The Doctor disappeared behind the table, leaving Martha all alone. The moment she got up that's when the pain hit her so right and hard that Martha had to bend down and take a deep breath.

"Oh right..." The Doctor's hands helped her to her feet. "You're human. I keep forgetting."

"Everything hurts!"

"I know. I know. It was a big explosion. Come on, let me help you."

The Doctor threw Martha's arms over his shoulders and her wait helping her walk. It wasn't long before Martha realized who was missing.

"Where's Constantine?"

"Yes, about him..."

A few steps ahead they stopped and the Doctor got to his knees. The couple were further away from the light, so it took a while for Martha to see why the Doctor had knelt down right there. A few blinks after and Dr. Jones saw the body lying next to the Doctor. It was the Cyborg.

"Is he dead?"

"No." With the help of the Doctor, Martha knelt down next to Constantine. He was completely still, not moving an inch as if he was a doll. Martha made a side note reporting to the fact that now Constantine looked more like a cyborg that he did when he was awake. "He's just off."

"Off?"

"Yes, cyborgs don't die, they just switch off. The impact of the blast perhaps shut him down, we need to turn him over..." The Doctor stepped over Constantine's body and landed on his left side. "Let's get him on his back. On three."

Martha pushed and the Doctor pulled, for their surprise, the cyborg turned out to be a lot heavier than they expected. While Martha was pushing Constantine, every single muscle on her body ached in pain. When finally Constantine was lying face down, she allowed herself to breath,

"Are you okay?" Asked the Doctor, even though he was busy lifting Constantine's shirt.

"Yes. Fine. Never been better."

"Your breathing says the contrary."

"I was being sarcastic. I feel horrible. Everything hurts. I feel like I've been fighting a concrete wall and it kicked my butt."

"Probably."

"Why aren't you hurt?"

"I am. I just deal with pain a lot better than you."

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver pointing it at the back of Constantine's back. The familiar buzzing sound stopped when a small hatch opened on the cyborg's lower back reveling a cluster of wires of all colors, like a motherboard to a computer.

"What color are we cutting?"

"I'm not looking for the wires." Said the Doctor, taking a long hard look in the motherboard "We are looking for a button."

"A button?"

"Yes. Like I said, Cyborgs don't die, they get renewed. If they break they just get brand new pieces and carry on. That's what's good about them, they just keep on fighting no matter what." The Doctor put his hand inside Constantine's back and started looking for a button. "One of the major flaws in Cyborgs were the sensitivity towards great impacts, in the early days of war a bomb explosion would bring the whole Cyborg army to a full stop, what was a bit of a loss."

"So, the Creators made this button that acted a bit like an adrenaline shot; If the Cyborg was down due to strong impact, you only had to click the button on it's back and it would come back."

"Oh!" Martha said "That's...peculiar..."

The Doctor has his tongue on the side of his mouth while looking for the button.

"Eventually, the Creators realized that having a button was also a loss and made new models without the button, that were more resistant to impact. I'm just praying Constantine belongs to the old lot."

Finally, the Doctor found the button and let out a high pitched "A-HA!". He clicked it and Constantine let out a huge cry like he'd been stung. The cyborg rolled belly up and was all read in the face, breathing hard.

"Oh...I've forgotten how much that hurt." He said. Eventually the pain passed and Constantine choose a seated position. "That was a big one, Doctor."

"Yes, yes it was. Glad to see you up, Constantine." The Doctor said. "I'm glad we are all alright."

"I'm not. I'm in pain." Martha said "I think I might be broken inside."

"Martha, you're human, but not made of glass. You're fine. I've checked you." Said the Doctor. Constantine took a long hard look at Martha then smiled.

"He's right. You're fine." Before Martha could even say a word, Constantine looked at the Doctor "So, how does it look?"

The Doctor looked up checking up the debris above his head.

"We are very deep underground, there's a wreckage of the a house on top of our heads if we want to get out, we have to do it fast."

"Wait...wait..." Asked Martha "You want to go out here and do what, exactly?"

"To get what we came here for: the meteor" Answered Constantine. "If you want your boy back, having the meteor in our possession is the solution."

"Yes, but is it safe? Aren't there toxic substance in the air?"

"Yes, very toxic." Said the Doctor. He pointed he screwdriver up in the air, then saw the results up close and let out a heavy sigh. "Levels are not as high as before, but still pretty high for you. "

The Doctor jumped to his feet and started walking back and forth on a frenetic level. It went on like that for two full minutes, 'till Martha snapped.

"Will you stop pacing!"

"Sorry." He said stopping. "We need to go out there. We need that meteor, but the air is toxic. Very toxic. Deadly, even and we don't have that much time left."

A heavy silence came down upon them.

"That's why I'm going." Said Constantine suddenly jumping to his feet and looking up. "Where's the door?"

The Doctor stopped Constantine.

"Wait, wait you can't just go like that."

"Do you want to go?" Constantine asked with an arrogant smirk.

"No, we'll find a way. Together, the three of us."

"Can you bring you TARDIS here?" Constantine asked, arms crossed over his chest like he knew the answer.

"It's manageable."

"Oh please, you are lying! You know you cannot bring down your machine, because of the toxic substance and gas. It will destroy it. I'm not a Time Lord and I know that much."

"Fine." The Doctor said. "I'll go then. I can always regenerate."

"What?" Martha asked surprised. "Are you crazy, I'm just getting used to your new face and you want to change again?"

"I think my looks aren't the issue here, Martha." The Doctor said.

Constantine raised his hands, as if saying he had enough of this stupid conversation.

"You might be a lord of time, but you are mortal, you have no way of knowing the gas outside won't just simply kill you and your regenerative cells. Liking it or not, we do need you in this in one piece, you don't need me."

"Don't say that." Said Martha. "You don't know how toxic the air is, you're a cyborg, but you too can die. After all, you are half human."

"I'm stronger than the two of you combined." Said Constantine. " How are we doing this, then? You can't go, Martha you're human and this is all about you, if you die what would be the point of all this? And you Doctor, you are the brains and the hero, as far as I can tell...the hero never dies."

The Doctor looked closely at Constantine

"Constantine, this is not something you've seen before. Everything and everyone who was out here when this think fell is now gone."

"I understand"

"Life will not grow here anymore, not the smallest of plants or weirdest of insects. This meteor is deadly, it's toxic substance can get into your system and actually melt you down from inside out. You won't last more than fifteen minutes."

"I know it's hard."

"This place is dead and if you die here, you will stay here. If we get out, if Martha and I actually manage to get out, we will have to run for our lives. We will not take your body with us."

Constantine shot a beautiful and confident smile, then touched the Doctor on his shoulder.

"I wasn't always a driver, you know? I've seen my share of wars. I'm not afraid. Now, where's that door?"

Constantine took off searching for the door that led to the house, while the Doctor looked for a chair, helped Martha to her feet and sat her on it.

"Better?"

"Yes." Martha said.

The Time Lord showed a big smile, then kissed her on her forehead.

"Trust me."

"_FOUND IT!"_

Constantine cried from a distance and the Doctor ran out to help, leaving Martha on her seat.

While alone the Dr tried to remain calm and ignore the pain that shot all over her body. Going from her right shoulder, to her left leg, Martha felt like a truck had ran over her body back and forth at least five times. Martha ended up giving herself an exam touching her body looking for cuts, bruises or broken bones, in the end the concluded she was fine.

Martha was worried sick for her boy, yes he was smart and strong, but he was still a small boy in the arms of an evil Queen. All sort of bad things could and would happen if possible.

The sound of something tumbling to the floor made her jump.

"_It's fine! It's all fine, it's just remains of the house._" The Doctor yelled. "_We found the door."_

"Okay." Martha said from her seat. "Constantine?"

"_Yes?"_

"Be careful."

There was a long pause, then Constantine showed up in front of Martha with a bright smile.

"Are you worried about me?"

"Yes." Martha admitted. She actually surprised herself with the speed and honesty of that answer.

"That's very human of you."

"Perks of being female human being. We worry about other people."

Constantine shot a big smile.

"I never said it was bad thing."

Then he left, leaving Martha alone. Martha knew the door had opened when hot wind came in the basement. A wind so hot it actually had Martha sweat just in seconds. The dry and dusty wind came inside moving everything around her and taking the breath out of her body. When the doors slammed shut with a loud bang, the temperature came back to normal and Martha could breath again.

The Doctor came back to his friendm he also with a read face and sweat on his forehead, stood in front of her shaking a small device in his hand. It was similar to a phone, but it had no keypad only one big visor, a red and green button.

"Found this over there. If he finds something, he'll let us know."

The Doctor gripped a chair and sat down next to Martha. There they stood in complete silence, not moving only breathing. The dim light making weird shadows in the dark corners of the wreckage, the faint sound of wind coming through the wooden boards high above their heads.

" I'm sorry." The Doctor said. "I've put you in this big mess. "

"It's a great way to come back, really." Martha said with a smile, giving him a friendly nudge.

"I did not want to come back like this." He said. "I wanted to show you my new me, yes I did, but not like this." The Doctor got up and started pacing again back and forth. "It just keeps getting worse and worse. Now James..."

"What about James?"

The Doctor stopped and took a long look at Martha. This moment was going to be crucial, all the words would need to be spoken with maximum clarity and careful.

"I have something to ask you." Martha said nothing and the Doctor continued. "Are you sure, James is Mickey's son?"

"Is the second time you ask me that..."

"I need to know."

"I've told you! Yes, Mickey is the father. I was with him and no one else. Why do keep asking me this?"

The Doctor sat next to Martha once more.

"I just I thought...You and I..."

"What?

"Well, you had feelings for me..."

"That was a marriage and a son ago, Doctor."

"Yes, yes, but you can't deny that we...You know...we...we had moments...we..."

Martha snorted then laughed.

"We had no such thing close to making _a child_, Doctor!"

"Oh! I know that...is just that...the TARDIS sometimes..."

"No, no, no...no...James is Mickey's son. Do I have to explain to you the birds and bees?"

"No!" The Doctor jumped from his seat like it was on fire. "That's the last thing I need in my mind is a mental picture like that. No. No. Thank you, but...No!"

Martha smile fainted, when she realized there was a big elephant in the room.

" Why is this even a question?"

"James is smart. Very smart. Not the typical five year old smart, but the Time Lord smart. He may look like Mickey, yes he does, but his eyes...those green eyes, are not from any side of your family or Mickey's. The Queen had him on her lap, but you saw it, he didn't even seem to be aware of what was going on, it was like he'd been ..."

"Drugged." Martha concluded, remembering how her son looked like he wasn't in this world. Half awake, half asleep. "So, what's your theory?"

"You said you found out you were pregnant the day after the meteor, correct?" Martha agreed. "So, that means that you were pregnant when you touched the meteor."

Martha opened her mouth to speak, but no a sound came out. It actually made sense. Now she remembered; for that whole week, Martha had felt queasy, moody and was barely eating. UNIT took so much time in her life that some details passed through the cracks, even though she was a Dr.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that the meteor is_ in_ James." Said the Doctor. By the look of shock in Martha's face, the Doctor hurried up and held her hands. " When you touched the meteor, it didn't kill you because you had life growing in you. It saw that and kept you safe, but some of it's power passed on to that life growing."

"To James."

"Yes, to him. That means, that your son is immune to the Queen's words. Whatever she says or order him to do James will not do it, he will do even worse he will contradict her." The Doctor explained. "He will fight her, which puts him in even more danger than we thought." Martha got up from her seat and stepped away from the Doctor. "The Queen likes control. Everything she says is heard then repeated to other people, if those words hit a dead end...If there's room for doubt or suspicion..."

" Please, stop talking" Martha begged covering her ears. The Doctor silenced himself and sat on the empty chair, once occupied by Martha. They were like that for the longest of times, in complete silence and completely still.

"Will the Queen kill him?" Asked Martha after a while.

"No." Said the Doctor quickly. Martha looked at him and the Doctor let out a heavy sigh. "She might. I don't know."

"I take it back..." Martha said "This is not a great way for you to come back. At all."

Martha sat down next to the Doctor.

"Are you okay?"

"What do you think? The chances of my son ending up dead, have just risen 50%, if not more. How do you think I am?" The Doctor kept silent. "The worst thing is, I can't hate you. I just can't."

The Doctor threw his arm over Martha's shoulder and held her tight.

"I will bring him back. I promise."

The silent became too heavy to be broken by any of them, so the Doctor and Martha both kept their mouths shut, listening to the wind. The minutes passed slowly, meanwhile the Doctor's mind was racing, coming up with plans to get out of that basement in case Constantine failed outside.

Martha remembered the day James took his first steps. She was sitting on the couch next to Mickey watching TV, when Mickey looked to his right and let out the loudest of screams.

_"HE'S STANDING!"_ he yelled. Then ran out to get the camera while Martha got on her knees and got closer to James without touching him.

_"Hey, you. You're up on your_ feet." Martha said smiling. _"You're a little men, aren't you?"_ James showed be cutest and toothless smile.

Mickey came back camera in hand and when he came down next to his son, James actually walked three steps towards his father before falling on his butt.

Their silent was broke by static noise coming from the device the Doctor had no his pocket.

"_DOCTOR?"_

The Doctor took out the device and pressed the green button.

"Constantine?"

"_Hey! I guess I'm alive!"_

"_It's great to hear from you."_ Said the Doctor with a smile.

"_You have to come out._" He said. _"Don't worry. The worst part is over. The wind actually cooled down a few minutes before I came out. It's okay. _

Martha and the Doctor both shared a look, before running towards the door. Martha forgot the pain and pushed the door with all her strength. When the pair walked out, they realized Constantine was right, the worst part was over.

Around them the earth, the sky, even the dusty wind, had only one colour: red. Blood red. As if someone had spray painted the entire planet. The sun was already up, but was covered by red clouds, the air was thick and humid, leaving their clothes all wet. There was not fresh breeze, only heat.

"Let's go."

The Doctor ran downhill to the big meteor crater with Martha by his side. It didn't took long for them to reach Constantine near the crater. The cyborg, had a piece of fabric around his mouth. His clothes where dirty with red dust and his hair matched the ground beneath his feet.

"There it is." He pointed to inside part of the crater and there it was. A big rock as round and big as a basket ball, but black. A black dot on a red soil.

Martha remembered it's form easily, it was the same one.

The Doctor did not have to tell her twice, witch careful Martha went down the biggest crater she had even seen. It was the size of football pitch and went deep, very deep. Martha got close to the meteor, feeling a sudden drop o temperature. She got close, was about to touch it, when she stopped...

"Don't worry!" The Doctor yelled from high ground. "It won't happen again. It knows you now"

Martha took a deep breath, reached out and touched the meteor. It was cold and soft, like a giant marble.

_Martha Jones. You've come to take me away?_

Said a deep voice in her head. Martha looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was behind her, she was alone with the meteor. Yet, she heard the voice and clear as if someone was standing in fron of her.

Without any warning a worm white light came out of the meteor blinding Martha momentarily and throwing the Doctor and Constantine high above the ground.

_MEANWHILE, IN ANGYOLNIGHT_

The Queen was drinking a glass of wine, when the pain shot through her. It was sharp, sudden, hot and it felt like someone was cutting her in half. Her scream was so loud the Guards walked in and pointed their weapons at her, as if expected a monster to pop out of her.

The pain was so strong the Queen roared and clutched her teeth. The Guards kept their guns ready, while their Queen screamed so loud, the actually made their brains hurt and the hair on their body scream as well.

Just as quickly the pain stopped and the Queen sat back again. She was shaking, her blood was racing and her heart was throbbing against her chest. That type of pain could only mean one thing, she had lost her leverage. The ball was on their side now.

She ordered the Guards to leave her alone, all of them. After they'd left the Queen looked at James that was strapped to his chair next to her and showed off a painful smile.

"Your mother has my meteor." She said. "You better hope she does the wise thing."

**TO BE CONTINUED..**.


End file.
